Mike McCarthy was in the front of the team meeting room one last time at Lambeau Field.
After nearly 13 seasons of conducting meetings in the large classroom, McCarthy was fired Sunday night less than three hours after the Packers lost to Arizona at Lambeau Field. By the time President and CEO Mark Murphy gave McCarthy the news, the players had already trudged out of the locker room and were on their way home.
McCarthy returned to the stadium on Tuesday to clean out his office and visit with his staff of assistants. That's when Murphy and General Manager Brian Gutekunst agreed to have the second winningest coach in franchise history return on Wednesday to address his former team one last time.
Interim Head Coach Joe Philbin said McCarthy spoke from the heart, not so much about football, but about his passion for the game, what it meant to coach the players sitting in front of him. Philbin said it was understandably emotional but McCarthy did a fantastic job.
The players agreed. Justin McCray said it was nice he was given the opportunity and Clay Matthews said it provided some closure for the coach. Randall Cobb said the players gave McCarthy a standing ovation walking in and another walking out, for the final time.
