THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE
PAGE 5
MTT sports editor turns focus to Mike McCarthy
Rob Reischel spends much of his time covering the Good Neighbor Citys gifted young athletes for the Middleton Times-Tribune. Many of his other hours are dedicated to covering the Green Bay Packers for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinels Packer Plus. Somehow, in recent years he has also found time to author several successful books about the Packers. Reischels latest turns the spotlight onto coach Mike McCarthy. His research took him to McCarthys hometown in Greenfield, Pa. and all the way back to Wisconsin. Reischel recently took the time to answer a few questions about the new book. hard core, Xs and Os football people will like it. You get a real in-depth look at several games and plays that have been integral in Green Bays success under McCarthy. Lastly, theres a softer side to the book that takes you through McCarthys journey from Greenfield, Pa., to Green Bay. Theoretically, that should appeal to folks that arent diehard football people.
A: Ive always believed McCarthy
is one of the more underrated coaches in the league. I feel even stronger about that after this project. Among McCarthys greatest strengths are his communication abilities, organization skills, and an ability to keep his team balanced whether theyve won four in a row or lost three straight. The Packers dont have giant mood swings from week-to-week like so many other teams do. The NFL is so unpredictable, and because theres so much time between games, everything is dissected to remarkable degrees. But the Packers stay incredible balanced and if a stranger walked into their
Q: How did your perception of McCarthy shift, if at all, during this process? What one or two things do you think readers would be really surprised to know about him?
locker room, they probably wouldnt have a clue what Green Bays record was most years. Thats a credit to McCarthy. I think I learned how McCarthy had many of these same organizational skills as a kid, when he was organizing CYO tournaments and baseball tournaments back in his hometown of Greenfield. He was also a natural born leader. I learned how starting fatherhood over at this juncture of McCarthys life has changed him. And I learned how McCarthy still has bigger plans than to coach the Green Bay Packers.
fans dont yet know, at least relative to Rodgers?
Q: How did this compare to writing
the book on Aaron Rodgers? Was it easier or harder? So much has been said and written about Aaron Rodgers story, and hes been a personality who doesnt shy from the media. McCarthy seems to be a bit more of an enigma, at least on the surface. Were you cognizant of that? Do you feel like there was a greater opportunity with McCarthy to really find a side of him most
Q: How did you get connected with
this project, and what were some elements of the process? Did you sit down for a long one-on-one with McCarthy or make a ton of phone calls?
A: Neither book was easier or harder than the other. I think Rodgers story is a little more rags-to-riches than McCarthys. But McCarthy certainly wasnt anyones first choice to coach the Packers or win a Super Bowl. I think McCarthy is largely a simple man, which is why hes a great fit in Green Bay. You could invite him over for a beer or to go bowling and hed fit right in with the average Wisconsinite. McCarthy is very guarded when it comes to the media. Its just the way the current regime, led by general manager Ted Thompson, conducts their business. But when it comes to his team, there arent a lot of games with McCarthy. He just tells it like it is instead of telling most of his guys what they might want to hear. So I certainly tried to chronicle the McCarthy his players know rather than the guy who
See McCarthy, page 8
A: I was asked about this time last year to write a book on McCarthy and was thrilled to take the project on. Much of the information and stories in the book came from lengthy sit downs with McCarthy. Some of those were recent, and many came from various points of his seven years in Green Bay. I also talked to a lot of people from McCarthys past, several current and former players, and spent a few days in his hometown of Greenfield, Pa., this summer talking to many people from his past. I think theres a nice blend of voices in the book that give readers an interesting picture of McCarthy the man and McCarthy the coach. Q: Who would you say is the targeted audience of the book, aside from the obvious (Packers fans)? Did you intend to tell a behind the scenes story or more or less chronicle the overall story, even with detail the average Packers fan would know? A: I think the book appeals to a
wide-array of people. First, it certainly targets Packers fans, guiding them through McCarthys first six seasons and highlighted by the 2010 Super Bowl championship. Second, I think
Photo contributed
The cover of Reischels new book.
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