Green Bay Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy essentially has two jobs. Call some plays, keep QB1 happy.
QB1 does not appear to be happy. Aaron Rodgers expressed — I guess we’ll call it concern — that McCarthy fired quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt earlier this offseason.
And McCarthy did it without discussing the decision with the franchise.
“My quarterback coach didn’t get retained. I thought that was an interesting change — really without consulting me. There’s a close connection between quarterback and quarterback coach. And that was an interesting decision.”
On one hand, okay. The Packers certainly need to keep Rodgers happy.
We suspect when he becomes the highest-paid player in the game again — something that is surely in the works — he’ll forget all about who his quarterbacks coach is.
On the other hand, the reason the Packers shook things up when the season ended is because they had become complacent. We’re not going to suggest Rodgers is complacent or that he doesn’t work hard.
However, I think McCarthy was sending a message. Everyone is on notice.
Van Pelt may have had some bond with Rodgers, but when it comes down to brass tacks, who cares? Aaron Rodgers doesn’t need a quarterbacks coach. Brett Hundley needs a quarterbacks coach. And was Brett Hundley ready for the big stage?
Nope.
In fact, McCarthy said after the season he didn’t think Hundley was prepared.
So really, the decision wasn’t that interesting at all. It was simply the dispatch of someone who didn’t do his job very well. Perhaps Van Pelt should have spent less time being Rodgers’ pal and more time developing Brett Hundley?