GREEN BAY
Geronimo Allison Jersey , Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers‘ head-coaching vacancy should be appealing for one big reason.He plays quarterback and signed a four-year, $134 million contract extension this year.Two-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, though, will not be involved in the process of selecting Mike McCarthy’s successor, but is free to provide input, team president Mark Murphy said on Monday.And that seems fine with Rodgers, who said he was focused on the Packers’ final four games under interim coach Joe Philbin.“I think there’s an interest in who the next guy will be, but (Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst) and I have always had good lines of communication, their offices, like they say, are always open,” Rodgers said. “I’m not needing to be involved in that process.”Murphy said Rodgers was also not part of the decision to fire McCarthy following the stunning 20-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday that dropped Green Bay to 4-7-1. Chances of making the playoffs are slim.It appeared that most players had already left Lambeau Field by that point, with many Packers saying they had learned of the firing on social media or through text messages.“Found out probably the same way you did at the same time you did,” receiver Davante Adams said on Monday. “I was definitely surprised. But, it’s a business and business is business
Aaron Jones Jersey , and that’s what it is.”Rodgers was already home to celebrate his 35th birthday when he found out.“I’m sure I found out the same way that most of you found out,” Rodgers said, “and was just as shocked as many of you were.”He planned to reach out to McCarthy later Monday.“I think him and I, like any relationship, we have our amazing times, we have our times where we butt heads,” Rodgers said. “But the basis, like I said, was built on mutual respect and communication. …We spent time together and growing our friendship and we accomplished a lot together.”From Adams to Rodgers, nearly every player in the locker room spoke highly of McCarthy, who overall had a successful tenure of 12-plus seasons highlighted by a Super Bowl win in the 2010 season. The 55-year-old McCarthy led the Packers to nine playoff appearances and four trips to the NFC title game overall.But offensive struggles this year followed a 2017 season in which Rodgers broke his right collarbone and the team missed the postseason. In 2016, the Packers started 4-6 before winning eight straight to get to the conference championship game.Murphy said it was time to make a change after the embarrassing loss to Arizona.“I don’t want to get into the details, but he was very professional,” Murphy said when asked how McCarthy reacted to his dismissal. “He’s a first-class person … and made a comment that, ‘It’s the coaching profession. I know what I got into when I became a coach.'”Gutekunst will be heavily involved
Lane Taylor Jersey , along with a committee, in hiring the next coach, though the decision will belong to Murphy, the highest-ranking executive in the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise. He adjusted the Packers’ organizational structure in January, when Gutekunst was promoted to replace Ted Thompson as GM, to have McCarthy report directly to the team president.“The structure, again, you’re focused on the structure,” Murphy said in response to one of several questions about how the Packers’ organizational flow chart could be perceived by potential coaching candidates. “The most important thing is the people and the relationships.“Brian and I have a great relationship,” Murphy said. “I think we’ll be in good shape, and I’m confident we’ll be able to hire an excellent coach.”Murphy has more football experience than the average team president, having played safety under Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs for the Washington Redskins. Also a lawyer, Murphy had extensive experience in sports administration before becoming Packers president/CEO in 2007. He was athletic director at Northwestern, where he hired coach Pat Fitzgerald, before coming to Green Bay.Murphy also views Philbin as a candidate. He would like to evaluate the veteran assistant and former Dolphins head coach over the next four weeks.Off the field
Blake Martinez Jersey , the move to dismiss McCarthy gave the Packers an early start on the coaching search. Murphy and Gutekunst offered few specifics when asked what they were looking for in the next coach, other than that would the team would wait until after the season to make a hire.“I think this decision was about changing our course more than anything,” Gutekunst said. “We just felt like it was a time to change the course.” Mason Crosby survived one of the worst seasons of his career by putting together five of his best.The veteran Green Bay Packers kicker isn't looking at what happened in 2012, when he made just 21 of 33 field-goal attempts, as a pathway to bouncing back from a nightmarish performance last week at Detroit.Crosby missed four field goals and an extra point, those 13 lost points looming large in a 31-23 loss Sunday. He had never missed more than two kicks in a game in his 12-year career."I look at what happened on Sunday as I'm lumping it into one kick, one entity," Crosby said Friday. "That was a game, that was a moment, that I couldn't have ever imagined happening, but it did happen and I can learn from it. I don't reset, I don't go looking for things. It's more, all right, get back into it. What am I going to do better this week? How am I going to improve?"So far this week, it's been good getting out at practice
Jake Ryan Jersey , hitting the ball, trusting that I've done this for 12 years in the NFL and a long time before that. What went down on Sunday is unacceptable for the career I've had, but it did happen and I'm going to be better off because of it."That's what the Packers are counting on heading into Monday night's game against San Francisco.The Packers didn't bring in any veteran kickers for a workout this week. Just like in 2012, they're banking on Crosby's body of work."You talk about hitting a bump in the hit, I mean, he hit a boulder, for God's sake," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He's the same guy. He's working at it. Personally, you root for a guy like Mason because he exemplifies what a Green Bay Packer is. He'll be back to normal."Change has become the new normal for Crosby.From 2010 through 2015, Crosby had the same snapper (Brett Goode) and holder (Tim Masthay). This marks the third consecutive season with a new operation, with Green Bay drafting JK Scott in the fifth round to handle the punting and holding and Hunter Bradley in the seventh to handle the snapping.Bradley has had a few off-target snaps, but the snapper-holder combination wasn't to blame on any of Crosby's five missed kicks."I just couldn't find the line," Crosby said. "The ball wasn't going through. I'm not going to overreact, overthink on it. The biggest disappointment for me was not doing my job in helping this team win. I need to make those kicks to help this team win. Honestly, whenever that happens
Davante Adams Jersey , that's what I feel the most is letting my teammates down."Special teams coordinator Ron Zook likes what he has seen this week."I think he's probably a little bit more zoned-in," he said. "Mason has always been a pro since I've been around him. I'm not one bit worried about him."NOTES: QB Aaron Rodgers was a full participant in practice after aggravating his injured left knee when tackled by Lions LB Christian Jones on the opening possession. "Kind of a step back to last week, the beginning of the week," Rodgers said. He wore a new, lighter brace in that game and hopes he'll be able to wear it again against the 49ers. ... RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) and backup Jason Spriggs (ankle) were added to the injury report as limited participation. If Bulaga plays against San Francisco, he'll line up next to RG Byron Bell, who has taken over that position for Justin McCray, who started the first three games. "Been consistent. He has a lot of experience," coach Mike McCarthy said.