The first game of the post-Mike McCarthy era in Green Bay went well for the Packers, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-20. After the game, quarterback Aaron Rodgers praised new head coach Joe Philbin, via Zachary Jacobson of Cheesehead TV.
https://twitter.com/ZachAJacobson/status/1071889783276752896
Philbin joined the Packers as an assistant offensive line coach in 2003; he worked his way up to offensive coordinator, a position he held from 2007 to 2011. In January of 2012, Philbin was named head coach of the Miami Dolphins who proceeded to go 24-28 over his tenure. He was fired after a 1-3 start in 2015.
Then Philbin spent two seasons as an offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts before returning to Green Bay as the offensive coordinator in 2018. He was named interim head coach when McCarthy was fired after a 20-17 loss to the 2-9 Arizona Cardinals.
Over his 12 year tenure as the Packer's head coach, McCarthy was criticized for not doing enough with Rodgers. The two beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a Super Bowl in 2011, but the sense that they had underachieved persisted.
Over this season, in particular, there were reports of a growing disconnect between coach and quarterback. Rodgers has struggled this season, perhaps in part due to the play calling, but also perhaps due to a knee injury he suffered early in the season. He has only one interception on the season, but his completion percentage (61.8%) is his lowest since 2015 (60.7%), and his percentage of touchdowns thrown when attempting a pass (4.5%) is the lowest in any full season of his career.
The Packers travel to Soldier Field in Chicago next week to take on the Bears, one of the league's best defenses. At 8-4, the Bears have a firm grip on the NFC North, the Packers sit at 5-7-1.
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