GREEN BAY, Wis. — Joe Philbin wanted four things from the Green Bay Packers over the final month of the season, and the interim head coach didn’t think Winston Moss met those criteria.
The critical tweet that Moss posted Tuesday, when he questioned the Packers’ leadership, was only part of the reason the associate head coach was fired by Philbin.
Ponder this… what Championship teams have are great leadership! Period! It’s not the offensive guru trend, it’s not the safe trend. Find somebody that is going to hold #12 and everybody in this building to a #LombardiStandard! Period! #losingsucks!
— Winston Moss (@Insanecane99) December 4, 2018
“It’s never about one thing,” Philbin said Wednesday. “Again, I think it’s important, as I said to the team, we’ve got to be professional, accountable, respectful and punctual. Those are the four things that we’ve got to do the next four weeks. And if we do all those things, we’ll be in good shape. It wasn’t about — again, you’re talking to a guy who’s never tweeted in his life, doesn’t even know what Twitter is — so again, it’s not about a tweet or anything like that. I just think the fit right now isn’t where it needs to be.”
However, Moss, who had served on former coach Mike McCarthy’s staff since 2006, linked his tweet to the firing in a later post.
The Packers have informed me that there letting me go. #thankstwitter!
— Winston Moss (@Insanecane99) December 5, 2018
“Again, I’m not going to really comment on the tweet,” Philbin said. “The decision was made. … We’re moving forward.”
Philbin said defensive assistant Scott McCurley will take over Moss’ duties as outside linebackers coach, and he did not name anyone to take Moss’ title.
Philbin, who had been the Packers’ offensive coordinator before McCarthy got fired, said he could not speculate on whether Moss’ tweet was a product of not becoming interim head coach.
“I think it’s important obviously that everybody’s on the same page, that we’re all moving forward in the same direction,” Philbin said. “As you know, Winston’s an excellent football coach. I’ve known him a long time. Respect him; outstanding family man. So it wasn’t an easy decision, but I just didn’t feel like the fit right now was where it needs to be. So … came to that decision.”
The decision to fire Moss was strictly Philbin’s, but it was supported by team president Mark Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst. In a joint news conference Monday, Murphy and Gutekunst called Philbin a “legitimate candidate” to replace McCarthy on a full-time basis.
“This gives us an opportunity to see Joe as our head coach for four games, see how the team responds and see how the coaches and others respond,” Murphy said. “And hopefully we can finish the season on a strong note.
“I’ve seen it across the league, although each year stands on its own. You can build up confidence and, if you have success one year, it can carry over to the other. So we’re looking forward to that. I have great confidence in this organization. We’re disappointed in where we are now. But our focus now is on finishing the season strong and then hiring the very best coach that we can for the team.”