Comparing Mike McCarthy Staying in Green Bay to Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren

The top four coaches in the history of the Green Bay Packers in terms of wins are Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Mike McCarthy and Mike Holmgren.

Lambeau was 209-104-21 in the regular season. His teams were 3-2 in the postseason, and he was the coach of six NFL championship teams in Green Bay.

Lombardi was 89-29-4 in the regular season. His teams were a sparkling 9-1 in the postseason, and he coached five NFL championship teams in Titletown, including the first two Super Bowl winners.

McCarthy is currently 87-48-1 in the regular season as coach of the Packers. His postseason teams have gone 6-5, and he coached the Green Bay team which won Super Bowl XLV.

Holmgren was 75-37 in the regular season. His postseason teams were 9-5, and he coached the Packers when they won Super Bowl XXXI.

McCarthy just signed another contract extension with the Packers which is believed to keep him as coach through 2018, similar to the contract extension general manager Ted Thompson signed in July.

With the extension, McCarthy will become the longest-tenured head coach in Green Bay history, except for Lambeau.

Lambeau coached the Packers for 29 years, while McCarthy's new deal will give him 13 years as head coach of the Pack.

Lombardi coached the Packers for nine years, while Holmgren coached Green Bay for seven years.

It's been rare when successful coaches in Green Bay have wanted to stay.

Lambeau was very successful overall in Green Bay as head coach (he was also a founder), but he left the Packers after a dispute with the executive committee in 1950 to coach the Chicago Cardinals. 

Lambeau’s last two Green Bay teams were a collective 5-19.  Plus, Lambeau upset some members of the committee by purchasing the Rockwood Lodge (north of Green Bay) in 1946 for $25,000, so the Packers could use it for training camp.  The facility burned down on Jan. 24, 1950, and Lambeau resigned a week later to coach on the south side of the Windy City.

Lombardi left the Packers after the 1968 season to become head coach/executive vice president of the Washington Redskins. Lombardi had resigned as head coach of the Packers after the 1967 season and was just the general manager of the team in 1968.

Associated Press

The Packers had stopped Lombardi from leaving a couple of times earlier, as the New York Giants had tried to lure Lombardi back to his hometown and back with his close friend and college buddy Wellington Mara, who owned the Giants.

That scenario was depicted in David Maraniss' wonderful book about Lombardi called When Pride Still Mattered.

Holmgren ended up leaving the Packers in 1999 to become executive vice president/general manager and head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

While Lambeau was more or less forced out as coach of the Packers, both Lombardi and Holmgren moved on to other locations which increased the power that they had wielded in Green Bay.

Lombardi had been both head coach and general manager in Green Bay, but in Washington he saw his title get bigger. Plus, he had an ownership stake in the team as well.

Holmgren worked under general manager Ron Wolf when he was with the Packers, but his new title in Seattle allowed him to run the front office, plus coach.

It appears that McCarthy has no such aspirations, as he seems very content working under Thompson.

Time will tell what will happen down the road for McCarthy and the Packers, but it's refreshing to see a successful head coach wanting to stay in Green Bay.