 breaking news as you may have heard. The Green Bay Packers have fired Mike McCarthy as their head coach. After 13 seasons there, a couple of Super Bowls in one title. Today's loss against the Arizona Cardinals. When Mason Crosby missed this with no time left on the clock, they fell 20-17 and that ended. Mike McCarthy's career, he has publicly had a strained relationship with Aaron Rodgers and it seems as though only four wins on the season combined with that. Well, that was enough for the Packers to decide to move on. We will talk about that and much more, but right now we want to bring in our NFL insider Jake Lazer and Jay, you just got off the phone with Mike McCarthy. What did he tell you? Yeah, look, just talk to Mike and he said, you know, first and foremost, I want to thank the Packers organization. He's known, obviously, as you're saying Kurt, what's happened with him and Aaron throughout this entire season. It didn't come as such a shock that maybe it could happen at some point at the end of this season, but not today. Shocked him that it happened today. He said, I still want to thank the Packers organization. I love being part of this organization. Love the winning ways. Love everything that they have brought here, the success we've had together. He's about right now at this point. I just want to take care of my family. I want to go home, make sure they're okay. So McCarthy is handling his family right now, still obviously dealing with the shock. So right now what the Packers are doing moving forward is Joe Philbin, who used to be with the Dolphins. He'll become the interim head coach. They're all going to have a meeting tomorrow at 11 o'clock to move forward with Joe Philbin as new head coach, the interim head coach of the Green Bay Packers. All right. Thanks a lot, Jay. Philbin was brought back this season as the offensive coordinator. This is second stint with the Green Bay Packers as well. And guys, I want to talk a little bit. Here, let's start with you, Terry. Mike McCarthy, first of all, a class individual. Yep. Well respected around the league. We'll have his pick of jobs next year. But Jay hit on something. I think a lot of people thought this might happen at the end of the season. Really, really surprised that it happened here today. This is Aaron Rodgers 35th birthday today. Yeah, it is. That's right. So happy birthday, Aaron. You got your 35 and your coach is fired. So got to make you happy, I guess. It's kind of hard for me to believe in this day and time of football that we hear about a quarterback and a head coach's relationship. It gets so muddled up that the quarterback has more power than the head coach. And that to me is sad. When you look at eight seasons of 10 wins and a Superbowl, I would hate to know that that's kind of what people would be saying about Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Knowles. I got him fired or something. That's just not something. This is what we're speculating based off of all the information that we've gotten out of Green Bay. For quite a while, though. Well, I was going to say, it doesn't just cover this season. It's been going on for a while. The rumors have been out there nonetheless. The record is, as they say, what you say you are, and they didn't make the playoffs last season. You could say, OK, Aaron Rodgers was hurt. This year, Rodgers has been there, even though he did get hurt early, Howie. Shocking that an Aaron Rodgers team is this bad from a record standpoint. I'll say this about Mike McCarthy, great coach. As you mentioned, 10, 8, 10 win season, Superbowl victory. I kind of liken this situation to Andy Reed in Philadelphia. Really good football coach, had a lot of wins in Philadelphia, but it just kind of ran its course between the organization and the head coach. In this case, it's obviously through the quarterback and the head coach at least appears to be. But I agree with you, Howie. I think everything kind of runs its course. At some point, I think everything has a cycle. Every coach seems to have a cycle. You're not on top. This is the days where you had the Landry's and you had the coaches who spent an entire career. Once you're head coach, you're a head coach until you basically decide to leave. And now it's a different situation. And we are speculating if he left because of Rodgers or whatever it may be. But if that is the case, if you're a coach who's looking for that job, you're going in thinking, hmm, do I really run this team? Or if I go into the quarterback who's going to really call the shots around here? But you know, Aaron Brown, the talented player, there is some talent on this team. And sometimes you just need some fresh blood. I've been through this situation, you know, two or three times in New York. And at the end of the day, whoever comes in there, you play your best for them, you do your best. And you just hope that it was a change that in the future helps the team do better. I'm a little confused because last year Aaron got hurt. So that's probably why they didn't make the playoffs this year. He doesn't have the players around. I mean, Randall Cobb was hurt. He's got St. Brown scantily out there, rookies, dropping balls, not really, they never really gotten the flow. And the thing that you never saw Aaron come out and back, Mike McCarthy, he didn't bash them, but he never backed them too. And I think that was a telltale. There's something going on there. And like you said, everything has its course. It is funny. Back in the back in the day, divorce wasn't something that was done, you know, as we've got this new age, if you don't win or you have two losing seasons from the music that they were able to make together, I think it's really hard that they can't get it together because they had something really special for a while. I think it's just, I mean, why are we sitting here talking about, well, the speculation that's Aaron Rodgers? You know, why? Because that's what's been said. Well, that's not just something that's made us, where there's smoke, there's usually fire. Exactly. This wasn't the first season we've heard this. And Rodgers had the knee injury earlier this year too, which did not help. And divorce, sometimes you try and it just can't, like I've been trying to divorce being Jay Glazer's friend for 25 years. Can't get rid of the guy. The one thing I think it's also important to remember, we talk so often about how this game comes down to little decisions. If you go back to the start of the season, that call against Clay Matthews, against Green Bay, so that game winds up being a tie. The Rams game. Then the Rams game, you tell the guy to take the knee in the end zone, he comes out, brings it out. Now, of course, not there anymore. That was the one. But those are two games that now, instead of four wins, looks like you would have had six wins and all of a sudden the team is going. That was the one. The Rams game, the Rams riding high, great football team on the road in Los Angeles. You have an opportunity for Aaron to make the final drive, which he's done countless times, and they don't get the opportunity in the season. It's unfortunate too. I mean, this probably wouldn't have happened if Crosby makes field goal, correct? I mean, I'm going to get them today. Well, they would, because that would have tied the game. Exactly. The point is McCarthy doesn't deserve with what, four games remaining? Yes. To be fired. Very young Green Bay. But it's a, there's a new general manager. Right. Good. It comes. Yeah. It's a different regime there now. It's a regime that probably is more open to making kind of rash decisions, particularly when you're under the pressure because you, is Aaron Rodgers under pressure? I think Troy and Joe talked about it. If he was under pressure before with the contract that he had, imagine the kind of pressure. Would you want to be known as the guy that people say you're the reason why he's been fired? But the one thing I realize that the player, whenever your coach gets fired, next time they don't fire the coach, they fire the players. So okay, the coach has gone this time. If you don't win next time, apparently it's not the coach. We need better players in this organization. And so for these players, Mike McCarthy, I don't think we should feel bad for Mike McCarthy. He's had a great career there in Green Bay. I guarantee you on this show, or at some point in this off season, we will talk about the next place Mike McCarthy is going to coach because he is an incredible football coach that a lot of teams right now are salivating and hoping that he likes them. They've already said fired on Sunday, hired on Monday. Where's John Dorsey from? Green Bay originally, yeah. Green Bay, Ron Wolf guy. Yeah. So you speculate maybe it's Cleveland. He says, I want a guy who can lead men. I want a guy high character. I want a guy who can handle an offense, young quarterback. He's had success, had won a Super Bowl. John Dorsey. Well, there's one thing for sure. They are both. These guys are champions, both of them. And they're both going to land on their feet. I think we have no doubt about it. They're both going to be successful. I think if you had to pick who has the most pressure, Aaron Rodgers to me going forward is the guy that more eyeballs are going to be on from this point yet. Nothing has changed really as far as the standings nor the order goes, but the teams in the top keep on winning, meaning the Steelers and Chargers contest tonight is a pretty big one. As far as the overall picture goes in the AFC. Meanwhile, in the NFC, a couple of things did change. Your Seattle Seahawks are now in the wildcard spot. They own that fifth place position right now. The Vikings have dropped out at least for the moment. Washington holding on to that sixth slot, but the door is kind of open now for the Philadelphia Eagles. If they can beat the Redskins in Monday night football. And how is we take a look here at the standings, particularly in the NFC, Seattle, when we talked about them, this is a team that started 0 and 2. There seem to be on a roll right now. They're seven and five and playing maybe as well as anybody in the NFC. Yeah, concerned. The run game has been big for them. The big plays off play action pass. That's a big for them. A number of their last games. I think three of their last four at home. And they're only road trips to San Francisco. Yes. So right now they're sitting at number five. Going back to the Rams. It's an interesting development because now with to lead back, they have Peters, they have Shields. I think this is kind of a battle tested team to a certain extent. The defense played well today. Offensive is really slow at the start. But you look at the Minnesota game, tested Seattle twice, tested hard. Green Bay, Kansas City, even the loss in New Orleans was a good experience for this football team. Right now they're sitting at number one and the schedule gets tougher with Chicago on the road next week. So it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. We talked about this again and again and again because year after year after year, we get to December and hear the Patriots are fighting for a number one C. And if you look at the schedule, they might end up being a number one C. They play Miami struggling Pittsburgh, you don't know what you're going to get week to week. Buffalo in the New York Jets with both teams who are struggling. Whereas KC has Baltimore, the LA Chargers, Seattle Seahawks teams that are surging right now. So I think the Patriots could be the number one, number one C. And I got to say they've won 13 straight home games. If they have home field advantage throughout this playoff, they are obviously tough to beat. But I love how they do it. They just grind you out. They pick you apart, sort passes, frustrate you. They grind you out and they take away your biggest weapon, which they did today to the Minnesota Vikings. And at every game, when you watch their games, you go, oh, it's close. They're going to beat the Patriots. If you look every game, it seems to be a point where you have to decide if you're going to win or if you're going to lose. This team is mentally tougher than everyone. When it comes to that point, they amp it up. I don't think, I don't think, yeah, I, I think Kansas City probably has the best chance. It's my opinion to secure home field. Mike's saying they're, they're upcoming schedule a little more complicated. New England's beating Houston. They've beaten Kansas City already this season. Yeah, but Kansas City, three of them remaining four at home, which is huge, because you know, this time of year. So I think another team on there, the, the Chargers. I mean, the Chargers are looking good right now. You got Joey Bosa coming back to go with Ingram. Defense is really, really good. And I think that's all that Philip Rivers needed. I mean, he's never really had this type of defense. Last time he had a type of defense like this, I think they went to AFC Championship game. And I would not be surprised if they're able to make a serious run. They got the Steelers tonight. Got the Steelers tonight. Big game, but I think they're going to do well. My hometown team don't sleep on Houston. Houston's 1-9 straight. And no one's talking about that. They are sneaky good right now. So as our own Jay Glazer, who's got more news and notes from around the league. I hope that was a compliment there, Kurt. Yeah. Hey, there's a couple of these teams that are trying to get into the playoffs, got some bad injury hits today. Cincinnati Bengals, A.J. Green went down with a toe injury again. Marvin Lewis said, Tim, we're going to have to have further tests tomorrow, but it didn't look good. Chris Harris, one of the leaders of that Denver Broncos defense, went down, broke a bone, the bottom part of his leg. They're hoping to get him back if they make it to the playoffs. Greg Olson been dealing with foot injuries all year long, tore the plantar fascia on his foot, ruptured that. He's done for the year. And look, Lamar Jackson today was knocked out of the game for a little bit when the concussion protocol came back in one again, Joe Flacco. He comes back to practice this week, but they're going to have to tell Joe Flacco it is now his team. By the way, Mike McCarthy, we just talked about him. A lot of outrage. I'm getting texts from other head coaches around the NFL just mesmerized that the Packers fired him today. And the way they did it, McCarthy again, just wants to stay classy and say, Hey, I can't thank the Packers organization enough for having me in there. I think the shock is with four games left, they did it. Let's wrap it up with who won the day. Starting with you, Terry. I'm going to go with Houston after starting going three. They have won nine straight in a row. And that's the day of big day. Three interceptions to Baker Mayfield in four sacks. Houston Reuters. Rams wrap up the NFC West. Rams wrap up the NFC West complete. As Sean McBake talked about a complete, complete win for them. I go with the Rams defense. Aaron Donald, two more sacks, 16 and a half on the season. That's amazing. That is amazing. I'm going to go to New England Patriots. We always talk about the offense. Show some love for the defense. Defense did a great job today. Shutting down the offense. That can cause some points in Minnesota biking. They'll only give it up 10 points. Houston Oilers. I love the Oilers. They're doing really well right now. It's freaking. Your day is something else. For my one today, I'm going to go with the Los Hepes. That means Chiefs, Terry, and they deal with all the chaos that went on around there with the Korean Hunt to go out there and win. Great job by them. All right, we will see you next Sunday on the Free Game.