Special Teams Coach Mike Stock Retires

If you look back at my old Packers blog, I was very critical of the hiring of Mike McCarthy. My thinking was; how could they fire Mike Sherman after only one losing season, and replace him with an offensive coordinator who had just led one of the worst offenses of all time (the 2005 49ers). I was wrong about McCarthy; he's a great head coach.

Back then, I was really pissed off at the hiring of special teams coach Mike Stock:

Another quality hire by Mike McCarthy. At least the Packers have never fired Mike Stock before. Stock has been around forever and got his first coaching job with the legendary Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame back in the 1960s. He was special teams coach of the year in 1987 and apparently he has been coasting off that past success plus his relationship with Marty Schottenheimer ever since.

In hindsight, Stock did more good then I expected. CB Will Blackmon and Tramon Williams both became dangerous return men (although Williams didn't have many opportunities in 2008). K Mason Crosby is very good. And the kick coverage and blocking has generally been good.

His Waterloo was P Derrick Frost. On the release of Frost:

"Is it disappointing for you...
It's disappointing for me because I'm responsible for coaching the kid, obviously. He kicked really well Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, just have to carry it over to Sunday too. That's the problem."

I think he was telling McCarthy and Thompson what a great job Frost was doing every week, only to have the awful Frost we saw every Sunday show up at game time.

Although McCarthy's known him for many years, going back to their days in Kansas City in the 1990s, Stock has retired. From JSOnline.com:

"Mike Stock didn't sound like someone who was ready to retire from the Green Bay Packers...

It's unclear what changed in the last week - whether he was encouraged to retire or just decided he had enough - but the 69-year-old Stock called it quits."

I think he was given the choice; retire or your fired. Although my original opinion of him was very poor, I don't know whether he deserved to get fired. The special teams units were very good, at times, under Stock. But the whole situation with Frost probably ended his coaching career.