He said it with a straight face, but it was clearly a joke at Clay Matthews’ expense.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was asked what he saw when he watched Matthews take a line drive to the face in the team’s charity softball game.
“I think he needs to work on his off-hand, mid-side, release of the ball. That’s what the tape showed me,” McCarthy said.
Matthews suffered a broken nose after taking a ball from Lucas Patrick’s bat to his face. He’s going to have surgery to repair the injury mid-week, according to the team.
All in all, everything with Matthews is and will be fine. Except for maybe the look of his nose.
“We don’t have any long-term concerns,” McCarthy said. “We’re talking about scheduling surgery, probably mid-week. It’s unfortunate, but it’s for a great cause. Just glad he’s ok.”
Clearly, McCarthy is still in a good mood. He usually doesn’t joke during press conferences. In fact, over the past couple years he’s been becoming more and more combative with the media. This typically happens when someone questions McCarthy on his decision-making or strategy.
We all recall the “highly successful football coach” remark back in 2016.
Of course, this is the offseason. No one is questioning anything yet. McCarthy has no reason to be defensive. Just wait until the Packers lose a couple games in a row during the regular season and watch how things turn.
