This sensational post from Greg Bedard over at the JSOnline Packer Blog regarding Ted Thompson’s role in the defensive coordinator search.

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• The Fate of the Packers

According to Tom Silverstein, writting in the Journal Sentinel this morning, everyone needs to chill out on the “Nolan Is A Done Deal - All Hail the Arrival of the 3-4!” talk. Quoting a “source with intimate knowledge of the search” (and why does that phrase make me feel dirty?) Silverstein states:

(Greg) Williams, one of the most highly regarded defensive coordinators in the game, has moved solidly into the picture and, with Nolan, forms the top two candidates on McCarthy’s list….McCarthy’s plan is to go for the best available candidates and then decide which would be the best fit for him. He plans to take his time with the search and if other candidates emerge during the process, he will consider them, too.

I made the case for Williams earlier this week in one of the comment sections and am very glad to read this. Someone (I think it was Donald’s Designated Driver) stated they were skeptical of Williams, seeing him as a ladder climbing mercenary who would only be biding his time until he could find another head coaching job. There is some validity to that, but I think what McCarthy needs now - an experienced professional to run his defense - ensures that that will be an unfortunate byproduct of whatever experienced coach he hires.

As far as Williams and what he would bring to the role, I loved what he did in Tenessee and I thought he did great work in Washington. I know his squad was less than stellar this year in Jacksonville, but I think a big part of that was Jack DelRio not wanting to run the pressure packages that Williams prefers. And that’s the thing - the biggest deficiency the Packers defense had last season was pressuring the quarterback. Bob Sanders, when robbed of a front four that could apply pressure without help, was simply unable to design anything resembling a competent pressure package. That will never be the case with Williams. While he has never enjoyed the same notoriety as Jim Johnson, Williams is brilliant at pressure design. Hitting the quarterback would not be a problem if he were to get the job.

Also encouraging is the last sentence of the passage above. I hope McCarthy takes a look at the likes of Sean McDermott. As I wrote last January:

…if the Packers plan to contend for championships, as McCarthy has maintained is his only goal, he needs to find a creative, hungry, young defensive mind, preferably one that has been exposed to a great defensive mind like Bill Belichick or Jim Johnson and that is not afraid to use a hybrid scheme, or indeed, an entirely new scheme all together.

The problem now is that McCarthy can not afford to miss. If he had made the switch last year, as I suggested, I highly doubt this team would have struggled as much as it did defensivley, and even if it had, McCarthy would have bought a bit of a grace period due to the players learning a new defense. Now, however, he has no margin for error. He has to win, and win now. He has to get this hire right or his tenure as Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers will no doubt come to an end. The best way to ensure he does that is to hire a proven coach, like Nolan or Williams, unfortunately.

On a side note, it’s interesting to see the back and forth between the Press Gazette and the Journal Sentinel on this story. Not only do we have the National Football Post and Pro Football Talk trying to one-up each other and break the news of the new defensive coordinator first, we now have both major papers that cover the team trying to one-up each other as well. GBPG reports that Nolan is “a 90% done deal”? Well, the Silverstein story is the Journal Sentinel saying “Not so fast!”

It’s great sport and almost as much fun as if the Packers were in the playoffs.

No, no it’s not. (sigh)

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• The Longer It Takes…

That’s what Mike Lombardi “hears” this week, which (conveniently) leads him to surmise that Mike Nolan is on his way to Green Bay. Of course, just a few days ago he was “hearing” that Winston Moss was a sure thing, so who knows.

Lombardi also notes the following:

I know that Bill Johnson, the Broncos’ defensive line coach, is scheduled to meet with the Saints, Seahawks and Packers this week. And his meeting with the Packers will center on the 3-4. Going back and forth between the 3-4 and the 4-3 is not hard to do if you have someone who can play over center, and the Packers do in Ryan Pickett.

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• How Bad Are They?

Just when it seemed Moss was the only logical choice, here comes Pete Dougherty quoting “Two NFL sources”:

Mike McCarthy appears likely to bring in Nolan to replace Bob Sanders, who was fired on Monday. One source said word at the Cactus Bowl, the all-star game for Division II seniors in Kingsville, Texas, is that the move is all but done. Another source said there appeared to be a 90 percent chance Nolan will join the Packers.

We may now resume our arguments about Nolan, the Big Nickel and Ted Thompson’s nightmare of an offseason trying to find the right personell to fit a new scheme.

(And chalk up another point for Florio in the Lombardi/Florio Cage Match…)

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• Greg Williams Is In the Mix

Why else would Joe Whitt Jr. have been promoted to Secondary Coach (Hat-Tip Packers Lounge) before a new coordinator was hired? What sense does it make to say to prospective coordinators “You can pick your staff! Oh, except for the secondary coach. We’ve done that already.”

This would appear to signal that McCarthy will name Winston Moss his Defensive Coordinator and will try to expand/morph the scheme that is already in place. It would be a gigantic mess for them to start trying to fit their existing personnel into a new 3-4 scheme and Moss has indicated he is not married to any one philosophy. No doubt he has some ideas on how to throw in a wrinkle or two.

More and more, it looks like Lombardi will beat Florio in the ‘Guessing Who the Packers Will Go With At Defensive Coordinator’ game of 2009.

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• You DO Know What This Means, Don’t You?

Mike Nolan is currently putting together a defensive staff and preparing to join the Packers as their Defensive Coordinator, according to Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk.

Now, Florio throws a lot of stuff against the wall knowing some of it will stick, and his citing of a league source is reminiscent of his ‘league source’ who was sure Favre was calling a Wednesday press conference early in the season a few years ago to announce his retirement - until, of course, it was pointed out that Favre had a press conference every Wednesday. But Nolan to the Packers does make a lot of sense. I’ll wait until a more reputable news source speaks on this, but I admit to being intrigued/excited.

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• Submitted Without Comment

…and to run, and to drive for touchdown after touchdown.

And so, Sir McCarthy smote the foul beast that was Sanders of the Bob.

And the people, they did rejoice.

(No. Seriously. Like, remember how people were dancing in the streets when Obama won? This was bigger.)

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• Stock Plummets

Bob McGinn’s excellent year-end wrap up is just about spot on. Surprisingly, it reads as a tidy summation of almost every point I’ve made about the 2008 Packers throughout the year.

I will say that both in the column and in his season grades, I was surprised at how harsh he was in regards to McCarthy’s coaching. Yes, McCarthy presided over a collapse of historic proportions, and his coaching decisions had a large part to do with it. But he never lost his team, even in the midst of a 5 game losing streak and the squad played hard until the end of the year, even when they were out of playoff contention. None of that excuses the teams horrific record in close games, but I think McGinn discounts it more than he should.

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• Packers Closer To Harlan’s Replacement