Today’s “Ask Vic” marks the conclusion of the column’s three-posts-a-week, regular-season regimen. As of Monday, “Ask Vic” will be published twice a week (Monday and Thursday) through the offseason.
Ethan from Ontario, Canada
News just broke about the Packers interviewing Chuck Pagano and Jim Caldwell. You have spoken highly of them in the past, so what are your thoughts about either of them getting the job?
Pagano is defense and Caldwell is offense. They’re both competent and qualified head coach candidates. Here’s the problem: I don’t think either man would satisfy the wolves that howled Mike McCarthy out of his job. The wolves want the next Sean McVay. The wolves want a play-caller. They want a guy who only calls good plays. They want a wunderkind. As names surface, the wolves might begin regretting their howl.
Sean from Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Is there anyone you would like to see tapped as head coach?
How about Tom Coughlin? He coached in Green Bay. He worships at the altar of Lombardi. Coughlin and Rodgers would be an interesting partnership, don’t you think?
Dustin from Seymour, WI
What is your opinion on Joe Philbin as a leader of men?
Joe is a calm, intelligent and measured man who knows how to coach and lead. Again, I ask, would he satisfy the wolves, or would he be viewed as an extension of the man the wolves howled to be fired? The expectations for a new coach might be unrealistic. The wunderkind Packers fans are envisioning might not exist. Maybe that’s just what the Packers fan base needs. A dose of reality would go a long way in helping the Packers through their transition period.
Brett from Marietta, GA
A while ago you shared a valuable tip from your days in print I’ve incorporated into my writing: Don’t use the superfluous that. In the same vein, in Wednesday’s column I noticed you used the qualifier “I think” several times in various answers. Given this is an opinion column and your opinion as well as the readers’ are the result of what one thinks, is using “I think” superfluous as well or is it acceptable writing style?
I’m not writing a legal document or a hard news story. This is an opinion column that needs to convey tone of voice to be effective. Column writing is granted literary license. “I think” is a means for reminding the reader I’m expressing opinion, not fact. It’s a way of talking to the reader.
Dave from Madison, WI
What are some out-of-the-box rules changes you’d like the NFL to consider?
I’d like the league to ditch the coach’s challenge. It’s a ridiculous system that relies on TV to provide replay in a timely fashion, which it doesn’t on a consistent basis. Why should the coach and television be responsible for officiating the game? It’s also a system that can be defeated by snapping the ball quickly or slowly for the next play, which means offense is in control of the process and defense is a victim of it. And if a coach is out of challenges, a bad call can’t be fixed. Hey, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right. The replay official needs to have his role expanded. Fix everything or fix nothing.
Nelson from Brazil
Vic, you see something in the Seahawks that most analysts don’t, because you keep ranking them in high spots. What do you like about them?
They run the ball. They play football the tough way, and that breeds grit that makes a team tough to beat in the postseason.
Derek from Eau Claire, WI
Give it to me straight. How much influence does the head coach have on a team’s record?
The head coach is the personality of the team he coaches. If he isn’t, he should be fired because that would mean he’s not an effective leader. When you hire a head coach, the No. 1 question that needs to be answered is: Do I want my team to have this man’s personality? How much influence does the head coach have on a team’s record? The team becomes him. If he’s not a winner, how can the team be expected to win?
Dave from Chippewa Falls, WI
How did you vote, the birth of the franchise or the “Ice Bowl?”
The “Ice Bowl” is the birth of the franchise.
Stern from Cedar Rapids, IA
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Vince Lombardi say something about winning being a culture? Shouldn’t Green Bay focus on being winners?
I remember being a kid and watching a four-win Steelers team beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in the final regular-season game of the 1967 season. Bart Starr was the starting quarterback but was replaced early in the game by Don Horn. I don’t think Lombardi was completely focused on winning that day.
Andy from Munich, Germany
Vic, Adams is chasing records. Is this basically a good sign, because not everything/everyone seems to be bad in Green Bay, or is this a bad sign because it indicates lack of balance. Thank you for all your great insights!
It’s fine, but it’s meaningless. True meaning will begin when the Packers hire a new coach. It’s all about that decision. Who will be the Packers’ next coach? I can’t overstate how important this decision is.
Lee from Marshfield, WI
Regarding the next Packers head coach, isn’t the real question how is this next coach going to develop Rodgers’ replacement?
This hire is about right now. It’s about finding a way to get one more title out of Aaron Rodgers’ career before it ends. That’s why I favor a veteran coach. I’m not looking for a young coach who’ll grow with the team, I’m looking for a guy who knows the tricks of the trade and how to fit players into specific roles so the Packers might close the talent gap that exists between them and teams such as the Vikings, Bears and Rams.
Matt from Georgetown, TX
Vic, I watched the whole Pinstripe Bowl because I’m a Wisconsin fan, but I have to wonder how these things stay in business. Is it possible for them to actually make any money?
Nick Saban said if the playoffs are expanded to eight teams the bowl games will go away. Is that a promise, coach? Hey, the bowls need to go away. The “First Responder Bowl” got it right. The kids don’t want to play in them, the fans don’t want to go to them, and the schools are losing money participating in them. The only people benefitting from them are the game’s directors, who are paid a salary for negotiating a deal with TV and a title sponsor and assembling a staff of volunteer workers. The games are terrible. In this year’s “Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl,” Army scored a 70-14 win over Houston despite completing only four passes. How do you score 70 points and complete only four passes? Houston, you have a problem. College football is at a low point. I’m stunned at how bad the product has become.
Dustin from North Port, FL
Who is your NFL MVP?
I’m going with Aaron Donald, not only because I believe he’s the best player in the game, but because I believe the quarterback position has been made so easy to play it’s time to take the award from the position’s possession.
Steve from New Britain, CT
What are your thoughts about Jake “The Snake” Kumerow’s talent level? Did you see the move he made to get open in the end zone against the Jets? He seems to not only have good chemistry with Aaron Rodgers but many Packers fans like him a lot because of his ties to Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Dime a dozen.
Tristan from Lake Lure, NC
Vic, as of this writing, the betting lines on the college playoff games are 12.5 and 14. Can anything be done to create some semblance of parity in college football?
Yeah, but the power five conferences won’t do it. It begins with recruiting. Drop the scholarship limit so there are enough premium players to go around, instead of a few schools hoarding them all. Also, the NCAA needs to achieve a stronger presence in assuring college football programs comply with the rules. Each program needs a “policeman” appointed by the NCAA to find violations, as opposed to allowing schools to blow the whistle on themselves.
