From Matt Bowen:

We at The National Football Post learned yesterday that Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator, Bob Sanders, was informed that he would be fired from his position with the team. Sanders came to the Packers in 2005, where he coached the defensive ends, and was promoted to the title of Defensive Coordinator the following year by Head Coach Mike McCarthy. During the Packers’ tailspin of a year in 2008, they struggled down the stretch en route to a 6-10 record and Sanders job security was brought into question.

The Packers ranked 20th in total defense this year, and had major issues stopping the run, where they ranked 26th in the NFL, giving up over 131 yards a game on the ground. After a 13-3 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship game last season, Sanders’ defense fell from 6th in the league in points allowed to 23rd this season at almost 24 points per game. Yes, the Packers had multiple injuries along the defensive line and at the linebacker position, but when coaches evaluate their staffs at the end of the season, the numbers don’t lie—no matter who is wearing a helmet.

As a former player in this league, this is a clear case to me of what happens when losses begin to pile up, especially fourth quarter losses, which Green Bay frequented throughout the course of the 2008 season. Players begin to question coaching, and coaches begin to question whether or not their players are buying in to the system they are preaching. I have been there before in my career, and once that slide hits, everyone in the locker room begins to question whether they have the right man for the job leading their defense.  It is the head coaches responsibility to hire someone that the players believe in, and in my own opinion, the defensive players from the Packers lost that belief in Sanders months ago.

It will be interesting to see who McCarthy brings in to lead his defense, and we at The National Football Post will bring you any updates or talk we hear from our sources as this story continues to develop.