November 18th, 2007 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “To the victor goes the spoils”. Nothing could be more appropriate than for current Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. His team is currently 8-1, in line to win the NFC North, and make a trip to the playoffs. And what goes better with success than a significant rise in the paycheck?
McCarthy, more than any other current head coach in the National Football League, probably stands to gain the most from his team’s success this season. In the middle of a 3-year contract, he has positioned himself to cash in, financially. Of the seven head coaches that were hired before the 2006 season, McCarthy’s record (16-9) is by far the best. Only the New Orleans Saints’ Sean Payton (14-11) approaches that level of success.
According to Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, league insiders who are familiar with coaching contracts and McCarthy’s situation with the Packers, it is common knowledge that McCarthy and Packers general manager Ted Thompson will address McCarthy’s contract after the season is completely over. Those future discussions aside, and barring a complete collapse of the Packers (not likely) during the regular season, you could expect McCarthy to receive a decent raise in his current contract. Currently, McCarthy makes around $2 million a season (ranked near the bottom of the league); assuming the Packers make a decent playoff run, he can at the very least, expect to make the average of the typical NFL head coach (around $3.4 million a season).
Meanwhile, the Packers continue to win and perhaps raising the stakes. Remember current Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith? He had 1 year left on his contract and he proceeds to lead the Bears to the Super Bowl. Smith reaped the benefits by nabbing an extension, to the tune of 5 years, $23.5 million (making Smith the 10th highest paid head coach in the NFL). Some other coaches – all successful as of late – are getting major rises in pay, as well.
The Press-Gazette attempted to reach McCarthy’s agent, Gary O’Hagan, but without success to get his take on the McCarthy situation. But one thing is for certain – the decision to wait until after the season to discuss contract issues appears to be a mutual one between McCarthy and Thompson. And based on the current wave of success enjoyed by the Packers, it has become clear that McCarthy deserves a pay raise – pure and simple.
