It’s been two weeks since Green Bay’s depressing playoff loss to San Francisco. As the dust settles, fans are either looking forward or still reflecting on the Super Bowl run that never was. Packers President Mark Murphy is doing both.
In the newest edition of his column, Murphy Takes 5, the CEO wrote about a variety of hot topics affecting Green & Gold Nation. If you missed it, here are five major takeaways.
#1: Green Bay’s early playoff exit was “extremely disappointing”
Evidently, Mark Murphy and the Packers’ front office were just as shocked and heartbroken by the team’s lackluster playoff performance as us fans. After all, this was supposed to be our year. If this season truly would turn out to be Aaron Rodgers’ “last dance” in Green Bay, then we had to make it count. All the pieces were in place to make it back to the Super Bowl… but the Packers just couldn’t make it happen. Here’s what Murphy had to say:
“The loss to the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs was extremely disappointing. For the second year in a row, we were the No. 1 seed in the NFC and looked to be in a great position to get to the Super Bowl. Unlike last year, we would have a packed Lambeau Field for all home playoff games this year. We were 8-0 at home this year in the regular season and went into the postseason with a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, we picked a bad time to play our worst game of the year (okay, maybe we played worse in our loss to the Saints in Jacksonville to open the season) and wasted a great opportunity.”
Murphy went on to add, “It takes time to get over a loss like that, but, in the NFL, nobody feels sorry for you, and we have a lot of work to do to get ready for next year.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70416865/1343074357.0.jpg "Murphy talks Rodgers, 49ers loss; Packers \"wasted a great opportunity\" 1")
#2: Murphy wants Rodgers to return
Surprising to no one, the biggest story this offseason will continue to be the future of Aaron Rodgers. The Packers’ star quarterback has three choices: stay in Green Bay, join another team, or retire from the NFL. Only time will tell, but #12 reportedly pledged to announce his decision by early March. In his column, Murphy made his wishes perfectly clear:
“Matt [LaFleur], Brian [Gutekunst], executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back. He is likely to win his fourth league MVP, is the unquestioned leader of our team and is still playing at a high level at 38.”
Based on this statement, it sounds like the entire Packers front office believes their best chance at winning is with Rodgers under center.
#3: The salary cap will pose significant problems this offseason
It’s been well-chronicled that Green Bay is an astounding $40.5 million over the cap. In fact, the only NFL team in worse cap shape is the New Orleans Saints. With 22 players set to become free agents, the Packers’ front office has their work cut out for them. Click on the photo below to view the full list.
Here is the list of the Green Bay Packers free agents this offseason 😟 pic.twitter.com/p5EN1ZIkKy
— NFL Football Everything (@nflfootballeve1) January 23, 2022
Murphy acknowledged that the Packers “are significantly over the salary cap for next year, and will have to make many difficult decisions in order to get under the cap.” The key factor, he adds, “will be whether Aaron Rodgers comes back for the 2022 season.”
Green Bay’s President and CEO ended on an optimistic note. “Although we will face many challenges this offseason, I have tremendous confidence in Matt, Brian and Russ. I don’t think anyone in the league knows the rules regarding the salary cap better than Russ. He will be our most valuable employee this offseason,” says Murphy.
#4: Losing coaches to other teams is bittersweet
Throughout the last two weeks, Green Bay has experienced notable upheaval in their coaching staff. They’ve promoted several guys internally after losing Nathaniel Hackett, Luke Getsy, and Justin Outten. In his column, Murphy wrote that it’s both disappointing and pride-inducing to see coaches move on.
“When a team has success in the NFL, especially the kind of success we’ve had over the last three years, it is only a matter of time before other teams will try to hire coaches from their staff… As much as you’d like to keep your staff intact, you don’t want to stand in the way of great opportunities for your coaches. In fact, I think it creates a very positive culture when coaches are able to leave for better opportunities or are promoted from within.
#5: Murphy is fed up with the current state of sports journalism
We’ve all complained about it at some point, especially during this bizarre season. Think Adam Schefter. The phrase “per sources.” Clickbait headlines. Pretty annoying, right? Well, Mark Murphy thinks so, too.
“I’ve been very concerned about the state of ‘sports journalism’ for many years now… there don’t seem to be any editorial rules or policies. It’s all about getting clicks with sensational headlines and stories… Another pet peeve of mine is the use of anonymous sources. I realize that sources need to be anonymous to break stories such as Watergate, but do we really need anonymous sources to comment on the status of our team? Also, who are these people? Who has the time or interest to comment on another team’s players?”
Mark Murphy publishes his column on the first Saturday of every month. He writes about a topic of interest to the Packers organization and answers five questions submitted by fans. Email Mark with your name, hometown, and question to be featured: MurphyTakes5@packers.com
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