Packers Fire Associate Head Coach Winston Moss
Joe Philbin has made his first move as interim head coach. The Packers announced that they’ve “parted ways” with associate head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reports that it was Philbin’s decision to make the move.
“We thank Winston for his contributions to the Packers over the past 13 years,” said Philbin. “We hope for the best for Winston and his family moving forward.”
Following an 11-year playing career, Moss joined the Seahawks as a defensive quality control assistant back in 1998. He spent half-a-decade with the Saints before moving on to the Packers, where he had been coaching since 2006. Former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy promoted Moss to assistant head coach in 2007, and Moss was the only major defensive coach to keep his job following mass firings after the 2008 campaign.
Moss has played a major role in developing many of the Packers’ notable linebackers, including Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, and A.J. Hawk. Moss also earned praise for transitioning Julius Peppers to a 3-4 outside linebacker. The 52-year-old coached Team Irvin during the 2016 Pro Bowl, and he interviewed for the Lions head coaching gig this past offseason.
NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/18
Here is the latest from the workout circuit. All links to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Jonathan Anderson, WR Daniel Braverman, WR Malachi Dupre, OT Justin Evans, LB Josh Keyes, LB Korey Toomer
Buffalo Bills
- WR WR Da’Mari Scott (visit)
Carolina Panthers
- OT Isaiah Battle, S Quin Blanding, WR Daryl Boggan, LB Jonathan Celestin, S Marwin Evans, LB Kennan Gilchrist, TE DeAndre Goolsby, DT Woodrow Hamilton, CB Bryce Jones, WR Andre Levrone, S Kai Nacua, DE Whitney Richardson, QB Brogan Roback, CB Henre’ Toliver, RB Terron Ward, LB Antwione Williams, OT Darrell Williams, DE Jonathan Wynn
Detroit Lions
- RB Mack Brown, RB Demario Richard, RB Justin Stockton
Green Bay Packers
- S Tray Matthews, LB Dadi Nicolas, DE Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, S Jason Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- WR Tanner McEvoy, WR Jordan Veasy
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
- LB James Burgess, LB Sam Eguavoen, LB Corey Nelson
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RB Joel Bouagnon, RB Kenneth Farrow
Washington Redskins
- OG Zac Kerin, OG Chris Scott
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/4/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Justin Zimmer
- Waived: S Keith Tandy
- Placed on IR: LS Josh Harris
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Jalen Tolliver, DE Vontarrius Dora
- Placed on IR: DT Olsen Pierre
Buffalo Bills
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Mike Love, CB Denzel Rice
- Placed on IR: C Russell Bodine
Denver Broncos
- Waived: OT Cyrus Kouandjio
Green Bay Packers
- Promoted from practice squad: OLB Kendall Donnerson
- Placed on IR: S Ibraheim Campbell
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed off waivers from Jaguars: CB Dee Delaney
- Placed on IR: TE A.J. Derby
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Damontre Moore
- Waived: DL Fadol Brown
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: RB Trey Edwards
- Placed on IR: WR Justin Hunter
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OG Zac Kerin, LB/DE Marcus Smith
- Placed on IR: OG Jonathan Cooper
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/4/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Daniel Braverman
- Released: WR Montay Crockett
- Placed on PS-IR: OL Rick Leonard
Carolina Panthers
- Released: CB Josh Thornton
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: S Tray Matthews, S Jason Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DE Anthony Winbush
- Released: QB Phillip Walker
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB James Burgess
New York Jets
- Signed: DB Tyvis Powell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: ILB Matthew Thomas, RB Ralph Webb
- Released: LB Farrington Huguenin
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Vincent Valentine
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Dare Ogunbowale, WR K.J. Brent
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Dalyn Dawkins
Aaron Rodgers Won’t Be Part Of Packers’ Coaching Search
After firing their longest-tenured coach since Curly Lambeau, the Packers will enter a hiring period with a high-profile vacancy.
While Green Bay’s next head coach will be tasked with recharging the Aaron Rodgers-led team and maximizing the championship potential created by the quarterback’s employment, the two-time MVP will not be part of the Packers’ coaching search, team president Mark Murphy said Monday (via Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com, on Twitter).
“Obviously, he’s free to provide input and talk to us,” Murphy said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “But he’s not going to be a part of the process. … The other thing I would say, Aaron was no part at all in the decision to move on from Mike (McCarthy).”
Murphy will be the one making the hire, not GM Brian Gutekunst, though Murphy said he obviously will not pick a coach with whom the soon-to-be second-year GM is uncomfortable. Gutekunst will be “actively involved” in the search, however (Twitter links via Wilde).
Gutekunst, Russ Ball and McCarthy each reported to Murphy this year in the Packers’ post-Ted Thompson-era arrangement. It appears that power structure will not change entering a crucial time for the franchise.
Interim head coach Joe Philbin will be a legitimate candidate, per Murphy (via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein, on Twitter). Rehired as offensive coordinator this offseason, Philbin was Green Bay’s OC during the team’s most recent Super Bowl title season and finished that stint in Rodgers’ 2011 MVP slate prior to becoming the Dolphins’ HC. But the two-stint Packers assistant landing the top job would obviously be an upset.
The Packers fired McCarthy early to dive into the search process early, but Murphy won’t be hiring a coach before the season ends, per Silverstein (on Twitter). While the Packers are mired in their most disappointing season in more than a decade, Rodgers (via Silverstein, on Twitter) doesn’t view the team as entering a rebuild. Prior to a Rodgers injury leading to the end of the Packers’ playoff streak last season, the franchise had qualified for the previous eight NFC brackets. At 4-7-1, the Packers are now a long shot to make that nine in 10 years.
Josh McDaniels Eyeing Packers Job?
Could the Packers’ search for a new head coach lead them to Josh McDaniels? The Packers’ interest level in the Patriots offensive coordinator is unclear, but McDaniels could be positioning himself for the job, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports writes. 
[RELATED: Packers Fire Mike McCarthy]
A handful of NFL assistants have indicated interest in joining a McDaniels-led Packers coaching staff, sources tell Robinson. One of those coaches pulled his name from consideration for a college coordinator position in order to keep that possibility alive, so there’s a strong belief out there that McDaniels could wind up in Green Bay.
Earlier this year, McDaniels agreed to become the next head coach of the Colts but ultimately left them at the altar. Despite his offensive knowhow, it remains to be seen whether the Packers or any other team would consider hiring McDaniels in this upcoming cycle. For what it’s worth, McDaniels does not believe he is “burned” when it comes to future opportunities, according to Robinson.
Of course, there are factors working in McDaniels’ favor. In previous years, energetic young coaches such as Sean McVay and Matt Nagy were among the hottest candidates of the offseason, but there’s a serious lack of NFL experience in this year’s group of non-retreads. There’s lots of buzz surrounding coaches like Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, but it’s not hard to imagine a club preferring the experience that McDaniels brings.
McDaniels also has experience in managing an elite quarterback, which should be a focus of the Packers after Mike McCarthy‘s relationship with Aaron Rodgers went south.
Reactions To Mike McCarthy’s Firing
Immediately after their shocking home loss to the Cardinals, the Packers fired coach Mike McCarthy. While McCarthy was widely believed to be on the hot seat, it’s still somewhat of surprise the team made the move in-season because of his winning history with the team. The move could have a massive ripple effect on the rest of the league, and reactions and opinion pieces immediately began pouring in.
We’ve compiled the most interesting observations and responses below:
- Assuming the Jets fire Todd Bowles, McCarthy should be at the top of the list in New York’s coaching search, argues Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. Vacchiano writes that McCarthy is “exactly what the Jets need”, and thinks that the Jets’ next coach needs to be someone like McCarthy, who is used to being in the spotlight, in order to handle the intense media pressure of being the Jets’ coach. Vacchiano thinks McCarthy would be a nice fit with Sam Darnold, and compares him to Andy Reid, who was fired after a long run in Philadelphia and has gone on to have great success with the Chiefs. It’s not the best comparison since Reid has been widely hailed for his innovation while McCarthy has been criticized for being overly-conservative, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Jets are interested.
- Because of the new structure of the Packers’ organization, it’ll be team CEO Mark Murphy who is making the call on who to hire as McCarthy’s replacement and not GM Brian Gutekunst, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. While Florio thinks Gutekunst will have a role in the process, it’ll be Murphy making the final call now, which is a change for the team. Previously, GM Ted Thompson would’ve had the decision making authority in situations like this. For what it’s worth, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets that the decision to fire McCarthy was a joint one made by both Murphy and Gutekunst.
- The move to fire McCarthy before the end of the season was “almost unprecedented”, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Schefter notes that this is just the second time in league history where a Super Bowl winning coach was let go in the middle of the year, with the only other time being when the Colts fired Don McCafferty in 1972. It underscores how surprising it was that they didn’t wait until after the season out of respect for McCarthy, and helps explain why McCarthy was reportedly blindsided by the decision.
- The team made the right call letting McCarthy go early, according to Pete Dougherty of Packersnews.com. Dougherty argues that it’ll give the Packers a head start in their search for a new coach, and as such give them a leg up on all the other teams who will be looking for a new coach. Dougherty also writes that “former general manager Ted Thompson would never have done it during the season and might never have let McCarthy go” at all.
- Ryan Wood of Packersnews.com took a look back at the McCarthy-era, and ranked the highs and lows of his tenure. Among the highs, of course, was the Super Bowl victory, as well as a streak of eight years in a row of making the playoffs, while the lows include today’s loss to the Cardinals and the history of losing in the NFC Championship game.
Packers Fire Mike McCarthy
The Packers have made a shocking mid-season change, firing head coach Mike McCarthy, the team announced in a statement posted to Twitter.
The team also announced that offensive coordinator Joe Philbin would take over as interim coach. While McCarthy was widely known to be on the hot seat, an in-season change is still a surprise because of his history with the team. The change comes immediately after the Packers’ embarrassing home loss to the Cardinals, where they lost as massive favorites.
A source told Adam Schefter of ESPN that the team brought McCarthy in immediately after the game and let him go, and that McCarthy was “not expecting it” (Twitter link). The “writing was on the wall” already, but today’s loss was the “final straw” for McCarthy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link), who notes that McCarthy will be “very desirable” as a free agent.
McCarthy has been linked to the Browns’ opening in recent weeks, and he should be considered a strong candidate for that job. This was the 13th season in Green Bay for McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with the team back in 2010. There have been rumors for a couple years now that McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers haven’t seen eye-to-eye, and things appeared to reach a boiling point in recent weeks with multiple tough losses. First-year Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has already made a ton of changes, and was never as loyal to McCarthy as longtime GM Ted Thompson was. Philbin is in his first year back in Green Bay after coordinating the offense from 2007 to 2011. While he’ll be a stable presence for the time being, he probably isn’t a serious candidate for the full-time job.
CEO Not Ready To Give Up On Season
- Though the Packers need to win out and get plenty of help to get to the playoffs, team CEO Mark Murphy wrote in a week Q&A on Packers.com that he is not ready to give up on the season. “Now, I realize that we are 4-6-1 (and as Bill Parcells famously said, “You are what your record says you are”) and that we haven’t played well. However, we still have almost a third of the season left to play. I know that the odds of making the playoffs are slim (I’ve seen odds range from 3 to 15 percent), but we still have a lot to play for.” Like the odds say, there isn’t much left on the line unless the team can get hot and get some help.
Packers Place Mike Daniels On IR
One of the Packers’ best players won’t have a chance to help the team make a last-ditch playoff charge in the coming weeks. Green Bay placed defensive end Mike Daniels on IR.
Wide receiver Trevor Davis will also be moved to the Packers’ IR list. Green Bay will promote fullback Dan Vitale from its practice squad and activate wide receiver Jake Kumerow from IR.
Afflicted with a foot injury, Daniels carried a questionable designation into Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. The standout defensive lineman has been a key component of the past several Green Bay defenses, serving as a full-time player for the past five years. He’s played in 10 Packers games this season.
Green Bay extended Daniels via four-year, $41MM contract during the 2015 season. One year (at a $10.9MM cap number) remains on Daniels’ deal. He made the Pro Bowl last season and has 29 career sacks.
Kumerow returned to Packers practice last week. The Division III product has not played in an NFL game yet, despite being a fourth-year pro. Initially a Bengals UDFA, Kumerow may soon be in line to make his regular-season debut. He’ll replace Davis in the Packers’ receivers room. Davis is the third Packer wideout to land on IR this year, following Kumerow and Geronimo Allison. Kumerow’s activation ensures Allison won’t return in 2018.