Reports yesterday and today seem to confirm that former 49ers coach Mike Nolan is heading to Denver. So who is McCarthy focusing on to be what will be the biggest decision of his head coaching career and may determine his future as a head coach in the NFL? Gregg Williams appears to be still in the running only because he hasn’t signed with anybody else yet. Eagles secondary coach Sean McDermott appears to be a front runner but what if the Eagles go to the Super Bowl as expected and you wait three more weeks and he says he happy where he is. Do the letters S.O.L. mean anything to you? If that were to happen McCarthy would have to give the job to Winston Moss and hire a good realtor.
I doubt the teams that have new coaches or defensive coordinator openings dilly-dally around much longer. I can see Williams being hired by Houston or New Orleans in the next day or so and now that Romeo Crennel is staying with the Browns, the prospects are getting thin if you are looking for a guy with experience, which McCarthy should be doing with only his career on the line.
I originally wanted Nolan, that’s gone. Now I want Williams, but I can’t see that happening, either. So lets hope the Packers make McDermott an offer he can’t refuse. There are other retreads out there that have been coordinators in the past but couldn’t land equivalent jobs since being fired from that position but if you are going to dig that deep you might as well just go with McDermott.
One thing about McCarthy, and maybe it is his flaw as a play-caller as well, and that is he can’t seem to make a quick decision. Maybe that isn’t even a flaw at all, but just once I’d like to see a big Mike Holmgren/Ron Wolf-like move. The Packers are not that far away and the with a quality young QB, the time to strike his now.