Green Bay Packers: Mike Sherman’s Exciting, Disappointing Tenure
By Tim Muma
The 2012-2016 version of the Green Bay Packers, with sporadic ups and downs, is reminiscent of a successful yet unfulfilling era in this franchise’s history.
Mike Sherman led the Green Bay Packers for six seasons and finished five of them with a record over the .500 mark.
Those half-dozen years included four straight playoff berths, three consecutive division titles, and a pair of 12-4 records.
The last five seasons with Mike McCarthy, assuming the Packers win their final two games, will look awfully similar.
Five straight playoff appearances, four division titles, and an overall record of 51-28-1. Sherman’s regular season mark was actually better i his first five years.
His teams went 53-27 in the regular season from 2000-2004, erasing the bad taste of Ray Rhodes’ term from everyone’s mouths.
He was a solid, if unspectacular coach. There were plenty of great times with him at the front, but also heartbreaking endings.
On the surface, Sherman’s resume with the Packers looks great.
Unfortunately, he was also 2-4 in the postseason and never reached the NFC Championship game. Sherman also has another ugly distinction: the first Green Bay Packers coach to lose a home playoff game.
His clubs lost a pair of them – both to dome teams. Ouch.
Sherman was also handed the reigns as general manager in 2001. When Ron Wolf departed, former Green Bay Packers president Bob Harlan chose to give Sherman the dual role.
Harlan says that was the worst decision he made in his career. Only a select few can skillfully manage both roles, and Sherman wasn’t up to the task.
You can’t blame Sherman for accepting – who wouldn’t – but it became too much and impacted him as a coach.
For example, Sherman gave legendary quarterback Brett Favre way too much rope, which had a negative impact on his performance at times.
He also had conflicts with players due to contract negotiations and other GM-related tasks. Most notable was cornerback Mike McKenzie’s holdout in 2004.
Sherman had all the makings of a fantastic locker room coach and leader, but he lacked a certain aggressiveness, commanding presence, and the ability to make high quality in-game decisions.
He was a solid, if unspectacular coach. There were plenty of great times with him at the front, but also heartbreaking endings.
While Sherman certainly had his faults and a hand in the Packers’ postseason struggles, he also ran into a string of bad luck.
Whether it was due to personnel, timing, matchups, or other key factors, it was a somewhat snake-bitten time for the franchise – and Sherman. So let’s take a look at what happened on a year-to-year basis.