Considering that the Green Bay Packers own the mark for most NFL Championships (Super Bowl and pre-Super Bowl) with 13, it makes sense that they’d have a long line of successful, great head coaches. Coaches dictate the direction of the ball club and can control the environment and locker room.
The Packers have had a load of great and good coaches. They’ve also had a few former players take control. For a franchise that has been around for over 100 years, narrowing 17 coaches down to four is a task.
The Packers Mount Rushmore of Coaches
Curly Lambeau
Years coached: 1921-1949
Record: 209-104-21
You cannot tell the story of the Green Bay Packes without first mentioning Curly Lambeau. In an area where the country was just figuring out professional football, Lambeau took over and dominated. During the APFA/NFL era, Lambeau led the Packers to the first-ever three-peat by winning back-to-back-to-back titles in 1929, 1930, and 1931. From 1927-1932, the Packers made the title game five times in six years.
Then, the APFA dissolved into the NFL and Lambeau made it back in 1936, where they won. Two years later, they went back. Even though they lost that year, they won the following year, upping the total to five championships. Lambeau went on to win one more title in 1944, bringing his total to six, a mark that has him tied atop the board with Chicago’s George Halas and New England’s Bill Belichick.
There’s a reason the Packers play their home games a Lambeau Field. He was a legend. Lambeau was more of a sure bet than www.captaingambling.com.
Vince Lombardi
Years coached: 1959-1967
Record: 89-29-4
From one giant to another. It would be physically impossible to build a Packers Mount Rushmore without the man, the myth, the legend himself, Vince Lombardi.
To say that there was a disappointing lull after Lambeau would be a massive understatement. In those years, Green Bay was not challenging for titles. That all changed once Lombardi came to town. In just his second year, the Packers played for an NFL Championship, ultimately falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1930, 17-13. The team changed at this point because Lombardi went on to win the next two titles, both over the New York Giants.
After a two year hiatus, the Packers were back in a big way. In 1965, 1966, and 1967, the Packers brought home yet another threepeat, the second in NFL history and second in Packers history. The latter two of that run were actually play-in games to what later became the Super Bowl, which resulted in wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. Lombardi was the first coach in Super Bowl history to 1. Win, and 2. Win back-to-back, hence when the trophy is named after him.
After that second title, Lombardi retired. He still holds the top winning percentage among Packers head coaches.
Mike Holmgren
Years coached: 1992-1998
Record: 75-37
While the first two coaches were about as cut and dry as the top two coaches in Packers history (and are among some of the best in all of NFL history), the final two spots are a little less clear. However, good criteria would be winning it all. Mike Holmgren did just that.
In just seven years, Holmgren won 67% of his games. Holmgren came over from spending three years in San Francisco as their offensive coordinator and took a second to get going. He was a consistent 9-7 in each of his first three years.
After that, the Packers kicked it into another gear by winning the NFC North in each of the next three years. First, he lost in the NFC Championship. Then, he won Super Bowl XXXI. In his second-to-last year in Green Bay, he made it to Super Bowl XXXII but lost to the Broncos. After finishing 11-5 again but losing in the Wild Card round, Holmgren resigned to sign to be the Seattle Seahawks head coach.
Winning a title puts you on the mountain for most franchises and Holmgren is no different.
Mike McCarthy
Years coached: 2006-2018
Record: 125-77-2
Finally, a little anti-recency bias. Mike McCarthy has been the target of most Packers fans’ ire. Some of it is well-founded considering he went from Brett Favre at QB to Aaron Rodgers – a pair of first-ballot Hall of Famers – and only won one Super Bowl. However, to be fair to McCarthy, it’s very, very hard to win it all.
After going 8-8 in year one, he led the Packers to a 13-3 record, only to be bounced in the NFC Championship to eventual Super Bowl champ Giants. Then, Favre “retired” and the team moved on to Rodgers. They didn’t miss a beat and won at least 10 games in seven of their first eight years together, ultimately winning Super Bowl XLV.
Then, the honeymoon ended. McCarthy won just seven games in 2017 and was fired after Week 13 of 2018 after starting 4-7-1.
Despite all of this, McCarthy owns the club record for most playoff games (18) and wins (10).
Main Image: Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY
