Report: Mike McCarthy was surprised by firing

Mike McCarthy was fired by the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and the head coach was surprised by the move, according to a report.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter says that McCarthy was brought in by the team after a 20-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals and was told he was fired. Schefter says McCarthy was not expecting the firing.

Packers brought in Mike McCarthy after the game and fired him; he was not expecting it, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 3, 2018

Surely McCarthy had to have seen reports saying he was likely a goner at the end of the season, and he had faced questions about his job security. He knew he was on the hot seat. But seeing him fired in-season is a surprise.

McCarthy had been the team’s head coach since 2006 and won a Super Bowl in the 2010 season. Prior to this year, he only had two losing seasons with the franchise — one in Aaron Rodgers’ first season as a starter, and the other last season when Rodgers was injured half the year. The timing of the move, not the decision to fire McCarthy, is surprising; Super Bowl-winning head coaches usually are not discarded mid-season like some scrub who couldn’t get the job done.