With the blessing of Packers President Mark Murphy, General Manager Brian Gutekunst, and Interim Head Coach Joe Philbin, Mike McCarthy returned to Lambeau Field Wednesday to address coaches and players.
“We all saw him as a staff, which was great,” Philbin said. “Then we talked, and he wanted an opportunity to speak with the team. I was 100 percent, fully supportive. He did a fantastic job talking to the team. Not just about football and winning football games, but his passion. His passion for the game, his love for the players was clearly evident. I’m sure it was emotional for him and everybody in the room. It was awesome. I thought he did a great job.”
Players were glad to have some closure on the situation considering McCarthy was fired after they left Lambeau Field Sunday following a loss to Arizona.
“I was happy to see him,” LB Clay Matthews said. “Obviously, first things first, you understand that this is a business and not many people get that opportunity. For him to invest the past 13 years in this team, has given his heart and soul to us, to have that kind of closure, it was great of the organization Joe, Gutey, Mark and everybody that allowed him to come in and say his piece. I know we really enjoyed it. I’m sure he did from a closure standpoint. Obviously, we gave him the respect he deserved and sent him off with some final words.”
Players were tight-lipped on what those words exactly were, but they didn’t mid showing their former coach how they felt about him.
“He came in and we gave him a standing ovation,” WR Randall Cobb said “He gave his remarks, and we gave him another standing ovation on his way out.”
