New coach predicts patched-up Packers
The Green Bay Packers are coming off their worst season in 15 years. They don’t know if their franchise quarterback is returning. Now they’ve hired the youngest head coach in the league.
Rebuilding year, anyone?
New coach Mike McCarthy disputed that notion on Thursday.
McCarthy compared his previous jobs, as an offensive coordinator in San Francisco and New Orleans, to building a house from the ground up.
This, he said, is like walking into his dream house.
“Now, we may knock down a few walls and give all the rooms a fresh coat of paint,” McCarthy said. “But this definitely is not a rebuilding process.”
Packers general manager Ted Thompson gave McCarthy a three-year deal to replace Mike Sherman, who was fired Jan. 2 after a 4-12 season.
Thompson touted the 42-year-old McCarthy as someone who could return the franchise to a championship level.
McCarthy has ties to the Packers and – perhaps more important – Brett Favre. He was the team’s quarterbacks coach in 1999, a forgettable 8-8 season under Ray Rhodes, who was fired after his only season as head coach.
Now, McCarthy must try to convince Favre to come back next season. He said he tried to call Favre on Thursday but they “missed each other.”
Bills’ Mularkey reportedly resigns
Mike Mularkey submitted his resignation to the Buffalo Bills, a person familiar with discussions between the coach and the team told the Associated Press.
The Bills will formally announce the coach’s resignation during a press conference scheduled for this morning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made.
Reached by the AP, Mularkey declined to comment on the report, except to say: “Right now is not the best time to talk.”
Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold declined comment.
Palmer’s injury considered severe
Carson Palmer’s knee injury was “devastating and potentially career-ending,” involving numerous ligament tears, a shredded ligament, damaged cartilage and a dislocated kneecap, his surgeon said.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback tore ligaments in his left knee when he was hit by Pittsburgh’s Kimo von Oelhoffen on his first pass during the Steelers’ 31-17 playoff victory last Sunday.
The team announced that he had torn the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. The damage was much more extensive and severe, but Dr. Lonnie Paulos said surgery went well and Palmer could be back for the start of the season.
Palmer had surgery Tuesday in Houston. Doctors used grafts from other parts of his body and donated tissue to fix the damage during an operation that lasted more than two hours. Palmer headed back to California to do his rehabilitation.
“It’s not just like it was a torn ACL,” Paulos said in a phone interview from Houston. “It’s a magnitude more difficult to recover from and repair. It can and has ended careers, without a doubt.”
Bush will take talent to NFL
Reggie Bush was ready to bolt.
The decision to pass up his senior season at Southern California was a difficult one, but the Heisman Trophy winner said he’s eager for a new challenge – such as playing for a losing team.
The Houston Texans, coming off a 2-14 record and without a winning season in their four-year existence, own the No. 1 pick in April’s draft. Bush could be their choice.
“If they were to pick me, I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I’m just excited to have an opportunity to make my mark at the next level, just to play for an NFL team,” Bush said at a news conference on campus.
Bush is expected to be one of the first players taken in the draft along with teammate Matt Leinart and Texas quarterback Vince Young.
Bush, who turns 21 in March, made his announcement a day after running mate LenDale White made his decision to leave school early to go to the NFL.
“Brian Calhoun, who played only one year for Wisconsin after transferring from Colorado, announced that he would skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft. The 5-foot-10 running back became the second player in Big Ten history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season.
Around the league
Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton interviewed with Oakland, the second person in as many days brought in to discuss the team’s head coaching vacancy. The Raiders also were working to set up a meeting with Fresno State coach Pat Hill. … Minnesota hired Green Bay quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell as its offensive coordinator. The Vikings also hired Darrell Wyatt to coach receivers, the same position he has held since 2002 at Oklahoma.