News | My Sports

Former Green Bay Packers defensive back Damarious Randall said on Thursday he does not know why Mike McCarthy was fired.

They expect Aaron Rodgers to be magical - Randall criticises Packers' approach

Former Green Bay Packers defensive back Damarious Randall has criticised the team's approach and their decision to fire coach Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl and took his team to the playoffs nine times in 13 seasons at the helm, was dismissed last weekend after the Packers fell to a 4-7-1 record.

But Randall, who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, believes the team's problems are more deep-rooted and says they are placing too much expectation on the shoulders of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

"They traded away all their good players and they expect Aaron Rodgers to just be magical," Randall said on Thursday in quotes published on cleveland.com. "The magic hasn't been so magical lately. But other than that, I don't know.’’

Randall, who was traded in March to the Browns in exchange for DeShone Kizer, gave credit to McCarthy for being a "great, great coach" and indicated he does not think he was the reason the team have a losing record this season.

"I've got nothing but the utmost respect for him. I just wish him the best. I don’t know why they fired him," Randall added. "He’s definitely a good, good guy, and he's a great coach."

Randall explained that the Packers may have wanted to go in a different direction since Brian Gutekunst took over as the team's new general manager in January.

"The GM that drafted me (Ted Thompson) was no longer there,"’ said Randall. "So the guy that came in felt they wanted to go [in] a different direction.

"I've got nothing but respect for him. Just tell him thank you. I don’t know what they were doing, but it is what it is."

Top Headlines