Here are some points to ponder while Packers coach Mike McCarthy shops for a new offensive coordinator:
That whole “local guy hits the big time” angle didn’t last long with Jeff Jagodzinski.
With two regular-season games remaining in his first season as the Packers’ offensive coordinator, the West Allis native is set to become the head coach at Boston College.
Without being at the meetings or on the practice field, it’s hard to say what impact Jagodzinski had on Green Bay’s offense. Jagodzinski, 43, was the architect of the zone blocking scheme, which he adapted from his mentor in Atlanta, Alex Gibbs.
Jagodzinski, a graduate of West Allis Hale and UW-Whitewater, spent two years at Boston College as an assistant coach under Tom O’Brien, who is leaving Boston College to take over the coaching duties at North Carolina State. Jagodzinski served as offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for the Eagles in 1997-’98, was the Packers’ tight ends coach from 1999-2003.
Word in Green bay is that offensive line coach Joe Philbin will be named to replace Jagodzinski, who will be named to his new post on Wednesday.
Also ...
That whole “local guy hits the big time” angle didn’t last long with Jeff Jagodzinski.
With two regular-season games remaining in his first season as the Packers’ offensive coordinator, the West Allis native is set to become the head coach at Boston College.
Without being at the meetings or on the practice field, it’s hard to say what impact Jagodzinski had on Green Bay’s offense. Jagodzinski, 43, was the architect of the zone blocking scheme, which he adapted from his mentor in Atlanta, Alex Gibbs.
Jagodzinski, a graduate of West Allis Hale and UW-Whitewater, spent two years at Boston College as an assistant coach under Tom O’Brien, who is leaving Boston College to take over the coaching duties at North Carolina State. Jagodzinski served as offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for the Eagles in 1997-’98, was the Packers’ tight ends coach from 1999-2003.
Word in Green bay is that offensive line coach Joe Philbin will be named to replace Jagodzinski, who will be named to his new post on Wednesday.
Also ...
- The Brewers are pondering an offer to free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan. The Pirates appear to be out of the running, but Suppan, 32, has drawn interest from a number of clubs could stay in St. Louis if the sides can agree on a price. Suppan reportedly is looking for four years at around $9 million or $10 per year.
A lot of jaded fans think that the Brewers view the pursuit as a PR move and have little to no interest in actually signing Suppan. Insiders insist that is not the case.
The Brewers would do well to sign Suppan just to avoid facing him. He’s 12-2 in 21 games (20 starts) against Milwaukee. A rotation of Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas would look solid on paper.
- I’m tempted to go see the new “Rocky Balboa” movie, but fear I may be lost since I never made it through an entire showing of “Rocky V,” which featured Tommy Gunn (aka Morrison). I’m afraid I’ll get lost in the plot.
- Speaking of boxing … how about that scrap between the Nuggets and Knicks the other night? NBA players may be the best athletes in the world, but they sure don’t look graceful or cool when they’re throwing punches instead of alley-oop passes.
Commissioner David Stern decided to suspend Carmelo Anthony for 15 games. It may cost Anthony a scoring title, but it probably won’t change his behavior much. Now, if Stern wanted to suspend him for the first round of the playoffs …
- It won’t get as much coverage as the fight, but Bucks players will be visiting the MACC Fund Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin on Tuesday afternoon. I’d rather see video of that than Anthony’s weak slap.
- Badgers center Brian Butch, mocked as an underachiever last season, looked like a dominant force during a victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday. If he can be that aggressive on a regular basis, the Badgers, currently ranked fourth in the country, will go deep in the NCAA Tournament.
- Lamar Hunt, who died last week, was remembered as the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and the guy who named the Super Bowl. He also was one of the more influential figures in the history of American soccer. He was instrumental in the early NASL, helped bring the World Cup to the US and then helped found Major League Soccer.
- Speaking of Major League Soccer, the effort to bring a franchise to Milwaukee continues. It’s probably going to take a lot of out-of-town money, but it could happen.
- Your team is in the playoffs. It's the fourth quarter. You're down by a touchdown. Do you want Terrell Owens on your side, or not?
- From the “it sounded like a good idea at the time” dept: The women’s college basketball game between Arizona State and visiting Texas Tech was called due to rain with 4 minutes 18 seconds left in the second half.
That’s right, rain.
The game was the second in women’s college hoops history to be held outdoors. The temperature was 56 degrees at tipoff at Chase Field in Phoenix and fans were bundled up like it was November at Lambeau Field. The rain came and officials didn’t have time to close the retractable roof before the court got dangerously wet.
Let that be a lesson to anyone thinking of hosting a hoops game at Miller Park.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
