On a quiet Sunday afternoon, this one came straight out of left field. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy is considering transferring play-calling duties to one of his assistants and shuffling his offensive staff.
McCarthy, who has called plays since he became coach of the Packers in 2006, is reportedly considering transferring those responsibilities to current offensive coordinator Tom Clements.
The potential for change doesn’t end there, however.
McCarthy is also considering promoting Clements to associate head coach. In turn, the Packers would move receivers coach Edgar Bennett up to offensive coordinator.
The Fan's Chris Havel per NFL source: #Packers to promote WR coach Edgar Bennett to OC; Tom Clements to Associate HC w/ play-calling duties.
— The Fan 107.5 (@WDUZ) February 8, 2015
This news has us confused, intrigued and impressed all at once.
Let’s go back to front.
It’s impressive that McCarthy is actually looking in the mirror. He’s obviously evaluating himself as much as he’s evaluating his assistants and the players on his team. Although it was the right (and long-overdue) move to fire special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum earlier this offseason, we know it had to be a tough decision. We applauded it accordingly.
This falls into that same category.
We’re intrigued not because we’re convinced that Tom Clements is some offensive mastermind. Frankly, we have no idea what he has to offer. Well, except for one thing — fresh ideas. We wouldn’t say that McCarthy’s offense has gotten stale. It hasn’t regressed. It’s not the reason the Packers lose games.
However, McCarthy’s play calling can be maddening, which you’ve probably noticed us point out once or twice. A new perspective and new play calls offers a new set of possibilities.
Possibilities that don’t involve handing the ball to John Kuhn in goal-line situations.
We’re confused simply because McCarthy has always ruled the offense with an iron fist. He didn’t give the defense a second thought until last year, but that offense, that was his offense. He’s always called the plays. Why is he considering change now?
We’re sure the debacle in Seattle has something to do with it.
It’s rare that you truly have a Super Bowl-caliber team. And I mean a real Super Bowl-caliber team. Not like you made it into the playoffs and everyone in the playoffs has a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. I mean a team that is talented enough to go to the Super Bowl and win, not because they got lucky, but because they’re that good.
There were three of those teams in the playoffs this year. The Packers were one of them and they blew it.
Hard to say when the next opportunity like that is going to come around.
Perhaps McCarthy feels that if he was free to oversee the whole team, rather than having such a consuming focus on the offense, things might have played out differently. Or maybe they’ll play out differently next time.