In the history of the NFL coaching, there are not too many coaches that have achieved half of what Mike McCarthy’s achieved. He is a famed American football Super Bowl-winning coach who led the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) for more than a decade. Starting his career in Fort Hays State in the year 1987 as a graduate assistant, Mike McCarthy holds one of the most impressive coaching records in NFL history. He remained with the Packers until 2018 when his contract ran out.
He is also credited to have coached Brett Favre in the season where Favre threw for 4,091 yards. No doubt the best of the best when it comes to American football Coaching, here are some more interesting details about his enviable career.
Highs and Lows of Mike McCarthy’s Career
Mike began his career as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State in 1987 and worked there till 1988. He was then hired in 1989. From here, he went back home to Pittsburgh where he took a job under Mike Gottfried and Paul Hackett at the University of Pittsburgh. Mike continued as a graduate assistant for three seasons before he went ahead to coach the wide receivers in the 1992 season.
By 1993 he was off to the NFL, taking the job of offensive quality control assistant with Kansas City Chiefs. He was there for the next two years before he rose to become the team’s quarterback coach. He worked also in the same position with the Green Bay Packers which became his next destination.
The 1999 season turned out the worst ever for the Packers since the legendary Brett Favre took charge. As a result of this, the entire coaching staff was laid off. This made it possible for the New Orleans Saints to get the services of McCarthy who then became its offensive coordinator.
He held the position for half a decade and was later named by USA Today as its NFC Assistant Coach of the Year in 2000. Mike McCarthy played a major role in the successful nurture of talents such as quarterback Aaron Brooks, running back Deuce McAllister, and wide receiver Joe Horn while he was the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints. Also, under his guidance, running back Ricky Williams, ran for 2,245 yards with 14 touchdowns.
In 2005, Mike began serving as an offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers but that would not last a very long time as he later returned to Green Bay Packers as head coach. In the first 9 games of the 2007 season, he engraved his name in the league after recording an 8–1 record. He set the record for the best coaching start in Green Bay Packers’ history. On the 19th of January 2008, he signed a five-year contract extension with the team.
On February 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, McCarthy was highly instrumental in leading the team to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–25 to win their fourth Super Bowl and their 13th NFL title overall. In November 2014, Mike signed yet another contract extension with the Green Bay Packers and soon began to relinquish play call duties to his long-time assistant Tom Clements and also began reorganizing his coaching staff. Luckily for Mike, his contract which was supposed to expire in 2018 was further extended as a result of his incredible and invaluable contribution to the team.
The lowest point of his career was a 17–20 loss he suffered in the hands of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 which led to his firing from the team having spent 13 years in charge. Having rejected interviews with Arizona Cardinals and then rejecting a job offer from Cleveland Browns, he revealed that he would be out for the 2019 season and then might be back to coaching in 2020.
How Much is Mike McCarthy Worth?
Before he was laid off, Mike McCarthy had a number of good deals in the past. He signed a five-year contract extension with the Packers in 2008 which gave him a salary raise of $3.4 million a year. His salary later went up to $6 million a year, after his last contract with the team.
One of the longest-tenured coaches in the league before he bowed out, McCarthy has a net worth estimated at $9 Million.
Mike McCarthy’s Family Background
The former NFL head coach was born Michael John McCarthy to Joe and Ellen McCarthy on the 10th of November 1963, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father Joe was a longtime firefighter and a Police officer who also owned a bar called “Joe McCarthy’s Bar and Grill,” which was later renamed “Chasers In The Run”.
He grew up in a pretty large family as one of five children; three sisters (Colleen, Ellen, and Kellie) as well as a brother Joseph whom he later lost.
Mike McCarthy’s Relationship Life
Since his days in high school, Mike McCarthy began a relationship with a woman named Christine. By 1990, they decided to become man and wife, and then in 1992, Mike and Christine welcomed their first and only daughter Alexandra Noel McCarthy. Unfortunately, the union was not one to last forever. Mike and Christine filed for a divorce and were legally separated in 1995.
After the divorce from his first wife, he was single for quite a long time, but this changed when he met a woman named Jessica Kress. Interestingly, Jessica was previously married and divorced, her former husband, William Kress, was a member of the Packers’ Board of Directors.
In 2008, the two of them walked down the aisle. They are now blessed with five lovely children together which makes Mike McCarthy the biological father of six children in total. Jessica’s previous marriage produced two sons; Jack and George.
It is interesting to note that Mike’s first daughter Alexandra Noel McCarthy is all grown up now and is an aspiring actress who wants to follow in the footsteps of her famous father towards fame but she does this in a different way which is through acting.
