The Green Bay Packers still have their playoff hopes alive, even if they are slim and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, it could complicate their search for a new coach.
The most obvious reason it would complicate things is it could enhance interim coach Joe Philbin's chances at getting the job. It could also slow down the process of interviewing prospective new coaches. If they were to make the playoffs they would be playing during the Wild Card weekend which leaves the question if they would start to interview coaches for the job during the week leading up to the wild card game.
Chances are they would. Given that assistant coaches from teams that earn postseason byes can only be interviewed during the bye week (i.e., the week the Packers would be preparing for a playoff game) and in light of the reality that those assistants can’t be interviewed during the Super Bowl dead week if they weren’t interviewed during the wild-card bye week, the Packers would have no choice but to interview candidates like Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, if their teams secure a bye.
If the Packers were to conduct interviews the team would probably get some heat for not letting Joe Philbin do his job without distractions.
Now, this could all be cleared up if the Packers were to lose this weekend against the Chicago Bears, because they would officially be eliminated from playoff contention and there would be no issues interviewing after the season ended.
Follow Us
Subscribe