Upon becoming Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers in 2006, Mike McCarthy was known in NFL circles for his innovative offensive mind and his ability to develop young quarterbacks. Five seasons into his tenure in Green Bay, that reputation has become firmly entrenched, if not enhanced, by the Packers' offensive prowess before and during the transition to Aaron Rodgers as the team's starting quarterback. In five short seasons, McCarthy has returned the Packers into title contenders, as the organization makes its first Super Bowl appearance in 13 years on February 6, 2011. McCarthy earned the 2007 Motorola Coach of the Year award in only his second season. In his first two seasons, McCarthy simultaneously oversaw a mini-renaissance to future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre's career and the development of Rodgers as his backup, and then in Year 3, the reins were turned over to Rodgers. With a personality to match his blue-collar hometown, McCarthy landed his first NFL head coaching job in his kind of place. A Pittsburgh native, McCarthy was named the 14th Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 12, 2006, the only step left to take after 13 years as an NFL assistant. But while he previously had traveled through NFL cities such as Kansas City, New Orleans and San Francisco, it may be Green Bay that most resembles his native Pittsburgh. And if there was one word used to describe McCarthy's hiring in his first days with the Packers, it was that he was the right fit", both for a town and a team looking to turn around a disappointing 4-12 season in 2005. The way McCarthy fits Green Bay, however, goes beyond the toughness in his personality, down-to-earth demeanor, and pride in his upbringing. Much like those players he worked with who rose to prominence, McCarthy paid plenty of dues along the way to his first head-coaching job. He learned a disciplined and no-nonsense approach to life at an early age. His father, Joe, was a longtime firefighter and police officer who also owned a bar near a Pittsburgh steel mill. McCarthy worked odd jobs at the bar as a teen. It was interacting with the hard-working tavern clientele while also watching a father in uniform dedicated to public service that helped make McCarthy proud of where he came from. In his short time in Green Bay, McCarthy already has immersed himself in several community events, including the Mike McCarthy Celebrity Golf Open, a fundraiser for local and statewide cystic fibrosis organizations that has had a longstanding relationship with the Packers. In addition, he has served as honorary chairperson for the local Cerebral Palsy Telethon and worked with the American Heart Association on its Red Cap campaign to recognize heart disease and stroke survivors and to raise awareness of those conditions."
