Packers sign coach to new multiyear deal
By COLIN FLY
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Mike McCarthy embraced Green Bay's culture from the first day he arrived as coach of the Packers. After his first Super Bowl championship, he'll stay in the NFL's smallest market for years to come.
McCarthy signed a new multiyear contract Friday less than a month after the Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 for Green Bay's 13th NFL championship.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We are very pleased to finalize this agreement with Mike," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement. "He's a good football coach, a good leader, and a good man. I look forward to working with Mike into the future."
McCarthy's previous contract ran through 2012, and both he and Thompson had been locked up for five years when they signed previous extensions after the 2007 season.
Thompson received his new multiyear extension on Feb. 11, meaning it was only a matter of time before his hand-picked coach received a new deal, too.
"We were very excited to bring the Lombardi Trophy back home this past season, and we look forward to the challenge of continuing to improve as a football team and adding to the championship legacy here," McCarthy said in a statement. "My family and I love being in Green Bay. It's always going to be my home, and we are very happy to continue to be a part of this community."
The Packers also announced Friday they had re-signed safety Charlie Peprah, who started 11 games last year after rookie Morgan Burnett was injured. Peprah was a perfect example of a contributor who stepped into a big role, leading the Packers with 10 tackles in the Super Bowl.
McCarthy's Packers became just the second No. 6 seed in the playoffs to win a championship, and he joined Vince Lombardi (1967, 1968) and Mike Holmgren (1997) as the only coaches to lead Green Bay to Super Bowl titles.
In five seasons, McCarthy has led the Packers to three playoff appearances, including this year's Super Bowl and an NFC title game in 2008, while also deftly handling the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and this season's spate of injuries.
In his final press conference in Green Bay last month, McCarthy said he wasn't going to be naive that his life would change after the title. He'll already join Lombardi and Holmgren with his name on a street near Lambeau Field when next season begins.
"I'm a family man, and I'm a football coach. I live in a town, the town of Green Bay, I feel respects that, and I hope it doesn't change. I'm very comfortable here," McCarthy said at the time. "You worry about your family more. I don't worry about myself. You just worry about if the change is really going to affect your immediate family. That's the only concern that I have, and I don't see that being an issue here in Green Bay."
The 47-year-old McCarthy, a Pittsburgh native, spent six years as offensive coordinator for the Saints and 49ers before taking over the Packers in 2006. Since replacing Mike Sherman, McCarthy is 53-34 including the postseason.
His no nonsense attitude and wry sense of humor that endeared him to the modest, Midwestern town from the start. Along the way, he restored the city's nickname of Titletown after a 14-year drought - and he hopes that doesn't change, along with anything else.
"I still go to Starbucks every morning," McCarthy said last month. "Got a cup with 'congratulations.' ... That was nice. But other than that, they still charged me. So everything's staying the same."
