Green Bay Packers Conduct 2 Interviews For Head Coaching Opening

GREEN BAY, WI -- The Green Bay Packers are apparently wasting no time in conducting interviews to replace Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

According to NFL rules, the Packers are not allowed to interview candidates that are currently working for another NFL team until the regular season is over. Both Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano have both interviewed with the Packers, and are currently not under contract with an NFL team this season.

NFL analysts are predicting that Green Bay Packer President/CEO Mark Murphy will ramp up the coaching search following the season, and figures to interview more candidates when NFL restrictions lift.

According to Pro Football Talk, Caldwell has interviewed for the head coaching job in Green Bay, and former Indianapolis Head Coach Chuck Pagano has done the same. According to the report, their interviews took place as Interim Head Coach Joe Philbin wraps up the season with in McCarthy's absence.

“They wouldn’t mind having a quarterback guru in to help run the show,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Thursday in a New York Post report. “This is the first known interview for the Green Bay Packers, and shortly after that, we found out the second, Chuck Pagano, another former Colts coach.”

Caldwell had a 35-29 record with the Lions, including an 0-2 record in the playoffs. Caldwell was let go by Detroit following the 2017 season and was replaced by Matt Patricia. Patricia has gone on to author one of the more dismal seasons of note for the Lions, compiling a 5-10 record and a fourth-place ranking in the NFC North.

Caldwell coached the Colts from 2009-11. In his first season, Caldwell led the Colts to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl XLIV appearance. In 2011, his Colts team saw hard times, as starter Peyton Manning missed the whole season with a neck injury. His team subsequently went 2-14, and he was let go after the season.

Advocates of a Caldwell hire say that he has led a team to a Super Bowl, knows how to work with high-profile quarterbacks. Caldwell joined the Baltimore Ravens' following his stint in Indianapolis, and was instrumental in elevating the play of quarterback Joe Flacco en route to a victory in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Green Bay Packers also reportedly interviewed Chuck Pagano - the guy who took over for Caldwell in Indianapolis after the 2011 season. Pagano coach the Colts from 2012-2017, compiling a 54-43 record, with the benefit of star quarterback Andrew Luck. Pagano led the Colts to a 4-12 record in his final season in 2017.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pagano has ties with the current coaching setup in Green Bay, as he worked with Mike Pettine in Baltimore and hired Joe Philbin in Indianapolis.

Photo Credit: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers heads back to the locker room after warmups before a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 23, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)