Mike McCarthy was officially fired as head coach of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and it wasn't exactly a surprising development after his team's struggles this season.
The Packers suffered a 20-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, which marked the latter's first road win in Green Bay since all the way back in 1949.
It was clear that McCarthy was going to be ousted by the franchise at some point, so it's not as though he was going to retire as head coach of the Packers.
However, with the veteran coach now on the market, that raises an interesting question:
Where will he land next?
That discussion has already started, and one particular tweet from Pro Football Talk has plenty of people talking.
Judging by the responses to the tweet, a McCarthy hiring in Cleveland probably wouldn't go over all that well. And that's probably to be expected since the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of business.
But let's look at a few reasons why going after the former Super Bowl-winning coach may actually make sense for the Browns.
3. Well, the man did, in fact, lead a team to a Super Bowl crown
Yes, it may have been eight seasons ago. And yes, he may have had a guy named Aaron Rodgers under center.
Still, leading a team to a Super Bowl title isn't easy to do. It takes a bit of leadership to do that, and that hasn't always been a strong suit for the Cleveland franchise.
Neither has winning Super Bowls or making the playoffs (we'll get to that shortly), so McCarthy would be far from the worst option on the market.
2. He had nine playoff appearances in 13 seasons with the Packers
Again, people are going to bring up the Rodgers factor as the only reason for Green Bay's ability to get to the playoffs.
While Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, it's still a 60-minute game that requires effectiveness in all three phases.
McCarthy's ability to get the Packers to the playoffs so many times during his tenure shouldn't be completely written off due to a couple of bad seasons.
1. The Baker Mayfield effect
While McCarthy had the luxury of working with an awesome quarterback in Green Bay, he'd also have the chance to do that with an emerging young player under center in Cleveland.
Mayfield has played very well at times throughout his rookie season, and with McCarthy's background as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, perhaps he could help add more elements to the young star's overall skill set.
So, if you're going to make the argument for an experienced coach with past regular season and playoff success, McCarthy would be a viable option in filling those requirements.
What do you think? Should McCarthy be on the Browns' shortlist of potential head coaches heading into the offseason, or should the team instead turn their focus towards pursuing a young and up-and-coming coach?
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