Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal has a great column about Mike McCarthy giving up play calling and how the team is already seeing a return on that particular investment. 

Money quotes: 

McCarthy, who spent most of his time on offense during his first nine seasons as coach, decided after last season to delegate some of his offensive duties so he could devote more time to the defense and special teams. That’s been the case during offseason meetings and workouts, and no less an authority than Rodgers insists the defensive and special teams coaches enjoy having the big boss around after years of relative autonomy.

McCarthy’s not so sure those coaches are as happy as they’re letting on.

“I think openly they’d say yes,” he said Saturday at the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. “I think privately they’d probably say no.”

On the football field, McCarthy’s area of interest has always been offense. In his new role, which included handing off the play-calling duties to assistant head coach Tom Clements, he hopes to make an impact elsewhere on the team by bringing an offensive perspective into the defensive meeting room, by increasing the emphasis put on the beleaguered special teams and by being more aware of big-picture trends on game day.

McCarthy’s input has already had an impact on the defense and special teams during three weeks of OTA practices, though he was quick to point out that the moves were in no way a repudiation of longtime defensive coordinator Dom Capers or first-year special teams coordinator Ron Zook. Indeed, McCarthy said the Packers clearly have the best coaching staff in football.

(Make sure you read the whole thing. It's truly exceptional work from Tom, who does a masterful job of weaving both the reason McCarthy was available to speak, the benefit for the children's hospital, with some solid football information. Having been tasked with this kind of thing before, I can tell you it's not nearly as easy as Tom makes it seem here.)  

When McCarthy officially handed off the play calling duties to Tom Clements, I felt it was an overreaction to the loss in Seattle. I still think that, but McCarthy has done a good job of saying all the right things about having been leaning this way for the last few years. Who am I to doubt him?

I will say, I will be absolutely shocked if McCarthy doesn't take the reins back at some point this year. The guy is a play caller. It's in his blood, the same way it was in Holmgren's blood. 

For now, it's nice to read and hear about the positive aspects of the move early on in the offseason. But when push comes to shove and the offense goes through a rough patch, which always happens, will McCarthy be able to remain hands-off when it comes to the big, laminated play call sheet? 

We'll see.