GREEN BAY, Wis. - Packers head coach Mike McCarthy will no longer call offensive plays for the team after a number of coaching staff changes take place within the franchise, according to the Green Bay Post-Gazette.
McCarthy relieved himself of that duty this week, to the surprise of general manager Ted Thompson and team president Mark Murphy.
The authority will fall to Tom Clements, the Packers' offensive coordinator since 2013 and quarterbacks coach from 2006 to 2012.
"I felt that the play calling was something that I could still be able to do," McCarthy told a press conference on Thursday, "but the commitment you have to make Monday through Saturday, I didn't think it fit, I didn't think it would work as good as I know it will work now with Tom who's basically taking the responsibilities on offense that I've had in the past."
Under Tom Clements' supervision, quarterback Aaron Rodgers won two NFL MVPs and a Super Bowl MVP, entering the league one year ahead of Clements' hiring.
"Tom has called as a player, he's called them in the NFL," McCarthy said. "[Tom] has an excellent relationship with Aaron Rodgers. The fit with Aaron is the highest priority. I thought that's why it was so important."
McCarthy's move comes amidst other changes in the Packers' coaching regime. Edgar Bennett, for the past four seasons the team's wide receivers coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator. Under Bennett's direction, Packers receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb both became the first pass-catchers in NFL hsitory to both receive at least 90 passes, 1,200 yards, and 12 touchdowns in the same campaign.
The Packers' special teams woes this season found a new hire in Ron Zook and assistant Jason Simmons, though McCarthy said he will also be more involved in this area, expressing a desire to become more intimately involved with all aspects of the team.
"This is something I've given a lot of thought, and it's something that's a big decision that's taken years to make," he said.
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