The Green Bay Packers are facing controversy we haven’t seen in a long time. In the midst of a three-game losing streak, Green Bay currently sits at 4-5 and in third place in the NFC North.
With a loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, the Packers can pretty much put an end to their playoff hopes. That’s a massive amount of regression from a team that entered the 2016 season with Super Bowl aspirations.
It’s also causing some drama to apparently unfold behind the scenes in Green Bay. Though, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers made it clear on Wednesday that he has head coach Mike McCarthy’s back. In responding to skeptics calling for McCarthy’s head, Rodgers had this to say.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Rodgers said, via the team’s official website. “I think people don’t understand how difficult it is to win in this league and win consistently. The success that we’ve had here, it’s tough to do, and we’ve set the standard pretty high.”
It’s not a surprise that Rodgers would come to the defense of his head coach. These two men have been tied at the hip since Rodgers took over for Brett Favre as the Packers’ starter back in 2008.
This comes at a time when both Rodgers and McCarthy have been criticized for the team’s lack of success this season. The latest to throw his opinion out there is none other than the aforementioned Brett Favre (more on that here).
“But I wouldn’t listen to some of those people out there. They’re not in this locker room, they’re not in the meeting rooms, they’re not in the practice environments,” Rodgers continued. “They don’t know what’s going on. They don’t know the type of work ethic that we have here and that Mike has here.”
It’s unclear if that was a broad statement. It could very well have been directed at Favre, who hasn’t necessarily had a close relationship with the Packers or Rodgers since leaving the team following the 2007 season.
Sure McCarthy has been successful as the Packers’ head coach. He boasts a .642 winning percentage in 10-plus seasons with Green Bay, earning eight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title during that span.
Still, the NFL is all about recency bias. With the Packers clearly in the midst of regressing from Super Bowl contention to bottom-rung playoff contender, criticism will surely be directed McCarthy’s way. It’s now all about how the team handles these struggles and whether it turns the corner here soon.