McCarthy Begins to Release Assistants (1 Viewer)

[Fla\/\/ed]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/jan06/384882.asp

McCarthy releases six Packers assistants

New head coach also parts ways with two team staff members

By CHRIS JENKINS

AP Sports Writer

Posted: Jan. 13, 2006

In his first full day on the job, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy released six assistant coaches and two staff members.

Jim Bates wasn't among them, possibly indicating the team's respected defensive coordinator might agree to stick around under the new regime.

Among those released: secondary/safeties coach Joe Baker, offensive line coach Larry Beightol, special teams coordinator John Bonamego, linebackers coach Mark Duffner, offensive coordinator Tom Rossley and strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin.

The team also released director of football administration Bruce Warwick and weight room assistant Vince Workman.

Bates, meanwhile, would have been a popular pick among Packers players to succeed Mike Sherman, who was fired Jan. 2 after the team's worst season in 15 years.

"The organization went another way, and it probably will work out for the best," linebacker Nick Barnett said Thursday after the Packers introduced McCarthy as their new coach.

Barnett wanted Bates to get the head coaching job, but now hopes McCarthy and the team will be able to talk Bates into staying on as the defensive coordinator.

"I would love to see Jim Bates back again," Barnett said. "He's an excellent coach."

As for McCarthy, Barnett said he would like to meet the new coach before forming an opinion. "I don't know the guy personally yet," Barnett said.

McCarthy is an offensive coach, so he might want a strong, independent assistant to run his defense. Bates certainly would fit that mold.

But after being passed over for a promotion by two teams in two years _ Miami Dolphins players also campaigned for Bates, then the team's interim coach, after the 2004 season _ it remains to be seen whether Bates will be willing to stay in Green Bay.

Bates, who was supposed to meet with McCarthy on Friday, did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press Friday.

"He's a man I respect, and the job he did this past year speaks for itself," McCarthy said Thursday. "I'd love to opportunity to sit down and see if we could work out the possibility of him working here."

Bates interviewed with general manager Ted Thompson for the head coaching job on Monday. Thompson said Bates interviewed well.

"I spoke with Jim last night and I spoke with him again this morning and he was disappointed," Thompson said Thursday. "He's thinking, you know. And I told him that Mike and he would probably get together tomorrow and we'll just see how that goes. It was an outstanding interview and he's a good man and we'll see where that goes."

Bates' efforts were overshadowed in a 4-12 season. But in his first year as the Packers' defensive coordinator, Bates engineered a modest turnaround.

Green Bay had the league's 25th-ranked defense in 2004 and lost veteran safety Darren Sharper to free agency in the offseason.

But despite injuries to key players this season, the Packers allowed an average of 293.1 yards per game, seventh-best in the league.

Bates spent the previous five seasons in Miami, where he oversaw one of the league's top defenses. The Dolphins struggled to a 1-8 start in 2004, and Bates took over as interim coach after Dave Wannstedt stepped down.

They finished the season 3-4, including a memorable fourth-quarter comeback to beat the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football.

Dolphins players publicly campaigned for Bates to keep the job, but the team hired Nick Saban, prompting Bates to leave for Green Bay.

With several other teams winding up their own coaching searches, McCarthy and the Packers will have plenty of competition to sign top assistants.

Coaching candidates frequently are expected to present lists of potential assistants during their interviews, but the only candidate besides Bates McCarthy has mentioned publicly is Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett, a veteran coach who once was McCarthy's boss.

Thompson said McCarthy will control the hiring and firing of assistants.

"Certainly that's part of his job description, that's part of his responsibility," Thompson said. "I will help out whenever he feels like he needs a little help. We'll probably talk about a lot of different people in terms of developing his staff, but that's the head coach's responsibility."

Four other Packers assistants already had left the team for new jobs.

The Minnesota Vikings hired former Packers quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell to be their new offensive coordinator.

Former Packers assistant Turner Gill took over as the new University of Buffalo coach and took former Packers defensive assistant Charlie Jackson with him to be his defensive coordinator.

And former Packers wide receivers coach James Franklin left to become the offensive coordinator at Kansas State.

 

[Colin Dowling]

Bates IS a good coach, and if he they can get him a couple playmakers (Mario Williams or AJ Hawk perhaps) then I suspect their D can improve somewhat quickly.

 

[trader jake]

it's a good sign at least

 

[Pipes]

Good to hear Rossley's finally gone. What a pathetic excuse for an offensive coordinator.I really hope Bates will swallow his pride and stick around. He did wonders with that defense last year and if they can add a playmaker or two either through the draft or via free agency, they should be in pretty good shape for next year.

 

[Man in the yellow hat]

Well, it's interesting to me that Joe Baker is gone. Isn't he a Bates guy? Didn't he come with Bates? Makes me wonder if losing one of his guys is a sign of things to come. I hope not.

 

[Challenge Everything]

Why get rid of offensive line coach Larry Beightol? The scheme should be near the same.

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

I have always been a Larry Beightol fan. He molded a great unit out of left over pieces, 6th and 7th rounders, and was getting it put back together after losing both starting guards. Maybe he doesn't think the guy he is bringing in as OC needs second guessers on the staff on the run blocking scheme, but this is a situation that bears watching. Beightol was a strength.

 

[slayer666]

Bates IS a good coach, and if he they can get him a couple playmakers (Mario Williams or AJ Hawk perhaps) then I suspect their D can improve somewhat quickly.

Jim Bates has already improved their defense. The Packers ranked 25th in total defense in 2004 and improved to 7th in 2005.

 

[Kleck.]

I have always been a Larry Beightol fan. He molded a great unit out of left over pieces, 6th and 7th rounders, and was getting it put back together after losing both starting guards. Maybe he doesn't think the guy he is bringing in as OC needs second guessers on the staff on the run blocking scheme, but this is a situation that bears watching. Beightol was a strength.

I've always liked Beightol too and am sad to see him go. I see that his assistant James Campen is still on board though. I'd be kind of surprised if he got the promotion, and might have just been kept as a quality control guy. Or maybe just because he is a former Packer player and was the center during Favre's first start, lol.

 

[KingPrawn]

Bates IS a good coach, and if he they can get him a couple playmakers (Mario Williams or AJ Hawk perhaps) then I suspect their D can improve somewhat quickly.

Jim Bates has already improved their defense. The Packers ranked 25th in total defense in 2004 and improved to 7th in 2005.

How much of that was due to Bates and how much was due to the fact that they faced such notable QBs as Garcia, Harrington, Orton, McMahon, Charlie Batch, Brooks, Brad Johnson, etc. ? I like what Bates did last year and thought the defense made major strides but they are not a top 10 defense yet. They are more middle of the pack. With Bates staying on and some key additions they could be a strength.Hopefully, Edgar Bennet is retained as well. I thought he did a great job last year with the RBs. And will LeRoy Butler have some type of role. I know the year before he was working with the defensive backs and was pursuing some sort of assistant coaching type job last year. Would be great to have him on board in some type of capacity.

 

[uwgb96]

Good to hear Rossley's finally gone. What a pathetic excuse for an offensive coordinator.

Just a "yes man" for Sherman.

I really hope Bates will swallow his pride and stick around.

I just don't see a reason to make a lateral move elsewhere. I'm sure he is quite disappointed right now, but I think his best bet is to improve on what has already been a nice job with the defense. Then, just maybe he can parlay that into something next year.

 

[slayer666]

Bates IS a good coach, and if he they can get him a couple playmakers (Mario Williams or AJ Hawk perhaps) then I suspect their D can improve somewhat quickly.

Jim Bates has already improved their defense. The Packers ranked 25th in total defense in 2004 and improved to 7th in 2005.

How much of that was due to Bates and how much was due to the fact that they faced such notable QBs as Garcia, Harrington, Orton, McMahon, Charlie Batch, Brooks, Brad Johnson, etc. ?

Last year the Packers competed against the same crappy NFC North teams. I would say a jump from 25th to 7th in total defense is a pretty decent improvement regardless of the teams the Packers faced.

 

[Tony Jabroni]

I have always been a Larry Beightol fan.  He molded a great unit out of left over pieces, 6th and 7th rounders, and was getting it put back together after losing both starting guards.  Maybe he doesn't think the guy he is bringing in as OC needs second guessers on the staff on the run blocking scheme, but this is a situation that bears watching.  Beightol was a strength.

I've always liked Beightol too and am sad to see him go. I see that his assistant James Campen is still on board though. I'd be kind of surprised if he got the promotion, and might have just been kept as a quality control guy. Or maybe just because he is a former Packer player and was the center during Favre's first start, lol.

 

[snorlax]

I have always been a Larry Beightol fan. He molded a great unit out of left over pieces, 6th and 7th rounders, and was getting it put back together after losing both starting guards. Maybe he doesn't think the guy he is bringing in as OC needs second guessers on the staff on the run blocking scheme, but this is a situation that bears watching. Beightol was a strength.

I looked forward to the continued improvement of the rebuilt line under Beightol and am also sorry to see him go. I was afraid that this would happen when I read that McCarthy wanted to introduce zone blocking schemes, and Beightol has always been great at teaching a strong man blocking scheme. I'm nervous about the old (and new) players having to relearn much of what they've been doing for years, but we'll just have to give him some time and see how things turn out.

 

[cowboyz]

on the cowboys blog, they like the possibility of getting beightol and kevin barry. is kevin barry any good?

 

[Chase Stuart]

Bates IS a good coach, and if he they can get him a couple playmakers (Mario Williams or AJ Hawk perhaps) then I suspect their D can improve somewhat quickly.

Jim Bates has already improved their defense. The Packers ranked 25th in total defense in 2004 and improved to 7th in 2005.

How much of that was due to Bates and how much was due to the fact that they faced such notable QBs as Garcia, Harrington, Orton, McMahon, Charlie Batch, Brooks, Brad Johnson, etc. ?

Last year the Packers competed against the same crappy NFC North teams. I would say a jump from 25th to 7th in total defense is a pretty decent improvement regardless of the teams the Packers faced.

GB ranked 20th in Points Allowed.

 

[Fla\/\/ed]

Why get rid of offensive line coach Larry Beightol?  The scheme should be near the same.  

Here is why.... from JSOnline. Jagodzinski will be a great hire!!!Meanwhile, a source said Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach Jeff Jagodzinski was en route to Green Bay for an interview with McCarthy. It appears Jagodzinski will become offensive coordinator and oversee the coaching of the offensive line.

"I'm going to interview a couple guys for the offensive coordinator position with more of a line background," McCarthy said. "That's my A option. My B option is to go with an offensive coordinator with a quarterback-perimeter background.

"I just think it's very important that the coordinators are involved in the hiring process with the assistant coaches. I'm going to do it from the top down. If I go with an offensive coordinator that has an offensive-line background, I want him to have the opportunity to be part of the hiring of the O-line coach."

The rest of the coaches basically were told to wait until Monday for further developments. The list includes tight ends coach Joe Philbin, running backs coach Edgar Bennett, offensive-line assistant James Campen, defensive ends coach Bob Sanders, defensive tackles coach Robert Nunn, cornerbacks coach Lionel Washington and special-teams assistant Brad Miller.

Mark Lovat, the right-hand man to Rubin since January 1999, is highly thought of within the organization and a possible candidate to head the strength department.

Frank Novak, who was close to Sherman in his role as a volunteer assistant for special teams, isn't expected back. Matt Klein, the assistant director of football administration, will return, according to a source.

In his meeting with Beightol, McCarthy thanked the veteran coach for his contributions but said his inclination to go with a new style of rushing attack precipitated the move. Beightol, 63, has toyed with the idea of retiring but made the decision that he definitely wants to coach in 2006.

"Well, I'm disappointed but I'm also very understanding that Mike wants to have his own people," Beightol said. "It's been a great run for me. I certainly have no regrets. Just sorry we couldn't do more this year. Circumstances dictated that it was tough, at best."

Beightol spent seven seasons in Green Bay, the longest stay for him in a career that has spanned 38 years. He and McCarthy were members of Ray Rhodes' staff in 1999, as was Jagodzinski, Washington, Rubin, Lovat and Klein.

Jagodzinski, 42, will be a key hire for McCarthy because he can install the zone-type running game that he learned from Alex Gibbs during the last two seasons in Atlanta. Sherman fired Jagodzinski, a West Allis native, in January 2004.



"I know how to teach zone blocking but I don't know all the specific reads of the running backs," Beightol said. "So you need to have somebody that does. That's how it goes."

Under Jagodzinski and the part-time instruction of Gibbs, the Falcons led the National Football League in rushing the past two seasons. Under Gibbs and Jagodzinski, the Falcons blocked an area more than a man and never pulled an offensive lineman.

Under Sherman and Beightol, the Packers used zone concepts on their stretch plays but also pulled linemen on their counters to both the strong and weak sides.

"Hey, it's a terrific thing," Beightol said. "The Packers have seen it first-hand at the Super Bowl (in January 1998 against Denver). It's a very formidable scheme. It's a good combination along with the West Coast offense."

 

[Kleck.]

Good article. I'd like that hire.

 

[Ed Suspicious]

I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about the apparent move towards a strong running / controlled passing game. It's really the perfect fit for Favre to go out on and Rodgers to come in on. It really makes offense a real potential pick in round one of the draft. I don't know if I'm just drinking the koolaid, but with the direction they are heading could be shaping up to be a very smart move on TT's part.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Among those released: ... strength and conditioning coach Barry Rubin

good riddance. If this ###### had done his job, Mike Sherman would be leading Javon Walker, Ahman Green and the Packers in a playoff game at Lambeau this weekend!