January 6
Green Bay Press Gazette
columnist Mike Vandermause
"
Somebody had to take the fall for the Green Bay Packers' lousy 6-10 season, and on Monday we found out exactly where the organization was placing the blame. In a major staff housecleaning, head coach Mike McCarthy fired five defensive assistants in addition to his strength and conditioning coach. Bob Sanders, Carl Hairston, Robert Nunn, Kurt Schottenheimer, Lionel Washington and Rock Gullickson were thanked for their years of service to the Packers, and then told to turn in their playbooks and vacate the premises. Special teams coach Mike Stock also would have been on the hit list, except he announced his retirement three days earlier. Losing isn't taken lightly, and when the Packers ..."
January 6
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"
One by one, coach Mike McCarthy gutted his defensive staff and axed his strength coach during a 24-hour period unlike any other in the long history of the Green Bay Packers. McCarthy notified defensive coordinator Bob Sanders by telephone Sunday after they talked at length last week. Then he met with the six members of the defensive staff on Monday morning and released four of them. At some point, McCarthy also found time to can Rock Gullickson, the strength coach. "He beat that record in one day," said Chuck Lane, the Packers' publicist from 1966-'80 who was reminiscing Monday about the day that Bart Starr fired him and others almost 30 years ago. "This sets some sort of new record." ..."
January 5
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"
The tenure of embattled Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders is over, according to an Internet report posted Sunday night but not confirmed by the club. Sanders did not return a pair of phone messages left after the National Football Post reported that coach Mike McCarthy had fired him. McCarthy was unavailable for comment and various members of the organization, including several offensive and defensive starters, said they had not heard a word about Sanders' status. The National Football Post is a Web site owned by Andrew Brandt, former Packers vice president of player finance, and agent Jack Bechta, whose clients include cornerback Al Harris. Former Packers safety Matt ..."
January 4
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Bob McGinn
"
From a personnel standpoint, the first job for any executive atop a National Football League franchise is to secure the quarterback position. Ted Thompson has done that with Aaron Rodgers. He drafted Rodgers with the 24th selection in the 2005 draft after 21 other teams passed on him. He defended Rodgers when he showed next to nothing for two straight summers. And he went with Rodgers over the aging legend, Brett Favre, in an unpopular, career-defining decision that now gives the Green Bay Packers a chance to be successful for years to come. The general manager's correct call on his quarterback makes him worthy of renewed public trust. In retrospect, Favre probably did play over his head ..."
January 4
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Columnist Rick Braun
"
The off-season arrived in Green Bay three weeks earlier than a year ago. That's three weeks the upper brass at 1265 Lombardi Ave. will have to work ou