Mike McCarthy has paced the sideline in Green Bay for 13 seasons. He has won .624 percent of his regular-season games. Nine times in his tenure the Packers have reached the playoffs, with four NFC Championship Game appearances and a Super Bowl title.
That has provided him job security.
But for the first time since the team hired him as head coach, McCarthy’s Packers are on the verge of missing the postseason in back-to-back seasons.
That has him on the hot seat, and one of the betting favorites to be fired.
“I’m focused on what’s in front of us,” McCarthy said Friday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “We have a 2018 commitment and that’s all I’ve ever focused on. That’s the job. That’s the way this business has gone. That’s part of the job responsibility. We set standard here the past 12 years, and it’s our responsibility to play to that standard.”
McCarthy, 55, received a pass last season because of Aaron Rodgers’ injury. But if the Packers miss the postseason, their new General Manager might spend the start of the offseason looking for a new coach.
McCarthy’s decision to punt on fourth down with 4:20 remaining Thursday night certainly didn’t help his cause. The Seahawks ran out the clock, denying Rodgers a final chance to win it.