We’re just a few short days away from the 2014 NFL Draft and the Green Bay Packers are thinking about the team long-term — and that includes their head coach.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Packers team president Mark Murphy has been working with head coach Mike McCarthy about hammering down a contract extension this offseason.
McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson both agreed to five-year contracts back in the spring of 2011, meaning the deals will expire after the 2015 season. Thompson’s, specifically, would expire after the 2016 NFL Draft.
McCarthy’s current deal pays him $6.5 million per year, but per the report, he will likely be seeking a raise to $7-8 million annually. Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll recently received a new deal worth $9 million annually
There are no indications whether Murphy has had talks with Thompson about a long-term contract, according to the report.
It isn’t known if Murphy has approached Thompson about a new contract, or if he planned to wait until after the draft before feeling him out. In an interview Saturday Thompson said he wouldn’t discuss such matters, but did commit to the coming season and draft.
Asked if it was important for him to finish out his contract, Thompson replied, “I don’t look at it like that. It’s important for me to try to do a good job today.”
There is a belief within the Packers organization that McCarthy would not have entered long-term contract talks with Murphy without the assurance of his general manager.
Thompson was hired in 2005 to replace Mike Sherman. That offseason, he drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the draft and hired McCarthy to take over for Sherman as head coach. Together, the two have brought in franchise players such as A.J. Hawk, B.J. Raji, Clay Matthews, Sam Shields, Evan Dietrich-Smith, and Jordy Nelson through the draft.
If, however, the organization does not extend Thompson’s deal, there is a chance he could land somewhere in Texas. According to the report, Thompson has been approached several times over the years about returning back to his home state to serve as an area scout, even one for the Packers.
