Sure, there were many names available to Ted Thompson as he began his search for a new Green Bay Packers head coach.
So naturally, being the experienced, well-versed, professional that he is, the Packers' general manager hired the guy most likely to elicit a "who just passed gas in the elevator?" look from just about everybody in the football world.
Mike McCarthy is Thompson's guy, and just to be sure, he verified the choice with the all-knowing and powerful Ronald Wolf.
And let's thank God -- the real one, not one wearing green and gold and a foam wedge of cheese on his head -- for that.
Now, lightning could strike and Thompson could end up looking like a genius if this guy actually manages to bring some level of success to the franchise. Blindly loyal Packer fans will point out that his holiness, Mr. Wolf, also hired a San Francisco offensive coordinator that led the team to a Super Bowl.
The thing about Mike Holmgren was that he was coveted by a number of other teams that were looking to fill the position. It was a general consensus that Holmgren, while young, was special.
McCarthy, meanwhile, is regarded as ... Umm, well? He coordinated an offense that ranked last among all NFL teams a year ago as the 49ers tripped all over themselves en route to a 4-12 record.
Well, what a move, indeed!
Once again, the Packers' brain trust decided that taking one step forward is impossible without taking two steps back. McCarthy was apparently well regarded by Brett Favre, who will probably be elected de facto lord and ruler of the state of Wisconsin when he finally does decide to hang up the spikes.
Let's not mince words. Mike Sherman was weak, was ineffective, and his inability to accept or assign blame is the single biggest reason that a team riddled with excuse makers like Ahmad Carroll, Brett Favre, and Ryan Longwell compiled a 2-4 playoff record. After several of the team's 12 losses in 2005, you had to wonder if that little ghost from Family Circus -- "Not Me" -- had a stall in the Mike Sherman-designed locker room?
What's really upsetting about this to people who understand the game of football -- not the Packers, but the actual game of football (there is a difference) -- is that Thompson had the ideal candidate sitting in his office within a 24-hour span of hiring McCarthy.
The players on both sides of the ball loved Jim Bates. His players worked for him. They played for him. They fought for him. He turned one of the worst defensive units in the game into something that commanded at least a shard of respect.
To listen to Thompson and McCarthy talk about Bates during their Thursday media session, you couldn't possibly think that Bates would return to his role as defensive coordinator. And why should he?
Let's face it. He's better than the Packers. He deserves better than the team he has been given to work with, and the way the franchise has treated him.
The Packers dropped to 4-12 last season partly because of injuries, but more because ineffective people were put in the position to make decisions they were not qualified to make. That showed as "Wolf the almighty" gave his blessing to "Bob Harlan the innocent" who hired "Mike Sherman the clueless," which begot the bestowing of GM duties shortly thereafter.
The decisions of Sherman the GM provided Sherman the coach with a lack of talent, and a lack of depth, which led to the hiring of Thompson, which further proved just how far this franchise has fallen.
Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe Mike McCarthy will be the third coming of Vince Lombardi, but there is little evidence to support that theory.
Instead, Packer fans will be subjected to another chance of living vicariously through past glories. The worst part is this guy's only link to Green Bay was being Favre's position coach during the highly-successful Ray Rhodes era.
The only people who will benefit from this decision are sports talk radio hosts, who will be earning overtime wages over the course of the next three years as Thompson and McCarthy bumble and stumble their way to mediocrity.
