During a recent interview, Packers TE Marcedes Lewis answered questions about the tension between QB Aaron Rodgers and former coach Mike McCarthy during this year’s season. Among other reasons, this tension and lack of cooperation between the two is what led to the Packers letting McCarthy go after 13 seasons with the team recently. Sports Illustrated wrote a detailed piece about this and other issues in the team. In it, SI gave the details of this troubled relationship:
McCarthy, like Rodgers, is an alpha male. When people familiar with the two were asked to describe their relationship, most say it is defined by tension. Until this year, it was a healthy tension that lifted both quarterback and coach. In 2018, something has been different.
McCarthy is the play caller, but because Rodgers is so intelligent and such a good improvisational player, the quarterback has the green light to change plays on the field as he see fit. He does, so often that it can be hard for McCarthy to get into a rhythm as the play caller. McCarthy might call the same play three times in a game, without the play actually being run as he called it. And if McCarthy calls a play that Rodgers doesn’t like early in the game, that can sour the mood for the rest of the game. Several sources familiar with the inner workings of the organization say that it devolved into a competition over who can call the better play, and both want the credit when things go right.
Winston Moss also had some interesting things to say last month:
https://twitter.com/YahooSportsNFL/status/1072223806452785152
As for the Marcedes Lewis interview on Yahoo Sports Mostly Football, he corroborates some of the earlier reports of the tension and Rodgers’ tendency to try and act independently of McCarthy’s direction.
“I think all of that stuff that happened towards the end in Green Bay all came from the top. I feel like Aaron had his own set of things that he wanted to do, then obviously McCarthy had his things that he wanted to do. I just think there was a little dysfunction.”
[…]
“One time I really saw it for the first time, we were in the huddle. I guess McCarthy called in a play, and Aaron was kind of like, ‘Nah,’ ” Lewis said. “He gave a direction and a protection to the line, and went. It was a four-minute offense, he threw a 40-yard bomb for a completion. I’m like, ‘What’s really going on?’ I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life.”
18 Comments
Interesting. Good article and nice job of pulling multiple threads together into one summary.
We are going to need a Sean Payton or Bill Belichick caliber of head coach to control/manage Aaron Rodgers.
Something tells me this is not going to get better or solved this time around.
Pete Carmichael assists Peyton… just saying….
SOB!!…..
I try to leave and basic stupidity brings me back (for this one post).
“‘What’s really going on?’ I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life.” – Mercedes Lewis
Gee Mercedes, you’ve never seen (or heard of) a QB changing a play, really? But then again…..you played in Jacksonville for 12 years, maybe you never had a QB good enough to change plays, so….go figure.
Thanks for the great deep insight Mercedes. What’s your sister’s name…Lexus?
Thank you also for the 3 catches, we couldn’t have done it without you..
Enjoy your retirement and that one good year you had in 13 seasons.
In a related thought…Can we stop wasting millions on free agent players who don’t perform each season? Our best free agent signing’s the last two years have Byron Bell and Jahri Evans. Two back up lineman.
Maybe if Rodgers took a pay cut, the Packers would have had more money to overpay more players. Yes, that’s sarcasm.
SOB!!…..
I try to leave and basic stupidity brings me back (for this one post).
“‘What’s really going on?’ I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life.” – Mercedes Lewis
Gee Mercedes, you’ve never seen (or heard of) a QB changing a play, really? But then again…..you played in Jacksonville for 12 years, maybe you never had a QB good enough to change plays, so….go figure.
Thanks for the great deep insight Mercedes. What’s your sister’s name…Lexus?
Thank you also for the 3 catches, we couldn’t have done it without you..
Enjoy your retirement and that one good year you had in 13 seasons.
In a related thought…Can we stop wasting millions on free agent players who don’t perform each season? Our best free agent signing’s the last two years have Byron Bell and Jahri Evans. Two back up lineman.
Maybe if Rodgers took a pay cut, the Packers would have had more money to overpay more players. Yes, that’s sarcasm.
Hopefully this will not be your last comment.
Not sure if you looked at the video with Lewis? Marty Bennett was one of the talking heads interviewing Lewis.
Hi Howard….Hope the News Year finds you and your family well as well as my other comrades who visit here.
I don’t know Howard, I had to comment on a something i couldn’t pass up, so i purged a few more comments because i do miss some of you guys. I just get the taste of bad Ju Ju in here now, plus i had 2 comments deleted after they were posted, the other guy never did that and if i’m going to be censored, i figure why bother.
Goes against the principles on what this site was built on. Not cool.
Damn it Howard! We should have put more money in that pool! Ha ha! Welcome back PF4L. Just ain’t the same without you man.
I was heavy handed and I apologize.
You complete me.
You’re welcome
I see a lot of blame being thrown at Rodgers. I see a lot of people calling him a diva and such (which might be coming true).
The problem here is that I see a lot of the same names dogging him here who also dog MM on his play calling… so which is it?
AR? MM? Both?
One thing I do know for sure is that my girlfriend, who doesn’t watch football (except occasionally with me on prime time) was able to correctly forecast a pass or a run just by the way they lined up. That – my friends – is STALE.
From what I see, we had a coach who became dull and predictable and his ego was too big to see it.
I also see that we have a QB who is getting too big for his britches… and his ego is too big to see it.
We NEEDED two losing seasons in a row in order to bring this to light. Like it or not, we did.
I have faith that we will find the right “Mastermind and Play caller” to get us back on track on the field and in the locker room.
And as far as Marcedes Lewis is concerned, his lack of usage as a blocker this season – particularly when our OL sucked – is evidence that we didn’t have the right “Mastermind and Play caller” in place.
If we get that done, “Winning” will take care of the locker room.
Just observations from a Pack fan since Majik and Sharpe hooked up on their first TD pass.
Let the thumbs now drop… :-)
Thanks for the comment. FYI, your future comments will appear faster now that you have commented at least once.
Good post Coach.
It’s my belief that McGravy should have been let go after the Seattle debacle because….
1) His philosophy (reasons) on why he ran those consecutive run plays was ludicrous at best, citing how many years he had been in the league as a head coach and off. Coordinator. Maybe Rodgers changes some plays now, because he knows better.
2) Bostick’s mistake…..Obviously Bostick took it upon himself to do what he wanted. But the question is why would he do that? Lack of respect? Lack of being in fear because he see’s that no one else has to be accountable in the organization? Bostick might have committed the sin, but it was the coaches who didn’t instill enough discipline in him to conform.
3) His inability to keep his team focused in battle. His team was celebrating a victory with 5 and 1/2 minutes to play. He should have been pissed and ended that celebration right then and there. Not to mention he should have told Clay to suck it up and get his ass back on the field, but instead he’s oblivious to what’s going on around him and and his team. If Kevin Greene was there, that doesn’t happen.
Highly successful Head Coaches don’t let those things happen.
But then again, highly successful coaches don’t go 1-3 in NFFCG’s.
The Packers are screwed. A top play calling, innovative coach isn’t going to want Rodgers changing the call whenever he sees fit and a lesser coach is never going to garner Rodgers respect.
I see this playing out with Rodgers in Green Bay until his skills fade (more), the Packers never makng it back to the Super Bowl, maybe not even the playoffs, then finishing out his career with a top defensive team like Manning did.
I really do find it hilarious that McCarthy was fired because of play calls and his relationship with Rodgers when the plays are really on Rodgers. Not just the calls but also where the ball goes. Talking heads pointed out the majority of passes got towards the sideline and rarely between the numbers as proof McCarthy was not creative. But all it really was was proof Rodgers feared interceptions and wanted to help his own numbers over the team. You’d think the two would be the same but they aren’t.
So McCarthy wasn’t creative enough but it was really Rodgers not being creative. As per the relationship any coach that wouldn’t let Rodgers walk all over him would have a bad relationship woudn’t they? But — here’s the thing! — McCarthy DID let Rodgers walk all over him and Rodgers STILL tanked performance and he was STILL fired…!
McCarthy was and still is a terrible person and it is ironic and appropriate he was terminated as a scapegoat, something he liked to do to others. I don’t feel bad for him but it is very funny.
I saw that NFL.com has the Packers job as one of the two most desirable among the open HC spots.
Know what I did?
I think you do.
Long deep chuckle……
Shit your pants again?
Enjoying the Vikings playoff run? Oh wait…. didnt they lose to a bears team that essentially wasnt playing for anything once the rams had a decisive lead?
it wasnt playcalling that ended things. it was lousy d and special teams and inabilty to ever have a balanced run game and never developing talent after drafts were done to draft and develop.
in no way over 13 seasons did mccarthy ever consistently improve in those areas.
Even FAs Martellus Bennet, Jimmy Graham, Mercedes Lewis, Julius Pepeppers etc etc etc played better before they got “developed’ more by mccarthy.
And, He ruined a lot of high draft picks careers. People who failed here, but didnt before here.
Drafted and no develop.
Hundley looked sharper to me in preseason his rookie yr than he did 3 yrs under mcccarthy and rodgers