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RHODES COMPLETES PACKERS' COACHING STAFF; NAMES MIKE McCARTHY, CHARLIE BAGGETT AND LIONEL WASHINGTON AS ASSISTANTS
posted 02/11/99
With the signing of three more assistants, Head Coach Ray Rhodes has completed his Green Bay Packers coaching staff.
The latest and final additions include:
Mike McCarthy, most recently with the Kansas City Chiefs, as quarterbacks coach;
Charlie Baggett, associate head coach at Michigan State, as receivers coach;
Lionel Washington, possessor of a 15-year NFL playing career, as assistant secondary coach.
The 35-year-old McCarthy has been Kansas City's quarterbacks coach for the past four years after originally joining the club in an offensive assistant/quality control role in 1993, working closely with the Chiefs' quarterback corps, which then included Joe Montana and Dave Krieg.
In addition to being responsible for tutoring the team's passers in all aspects of quarterback play, McCarthy also had assisted Chiefs offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye in the implementation of the team's weekly game plan since 1995. His efforts paid major dividends for the Chiefs in 1997, when Kansas City boasted two of the most efficient signal-callers in the league, Elvis Grbac and Rich Gannon. Grbac compiled a 7-2 record in his debut as the Chiefs' starter before suffering a broken clavicle in a game against Pittsburgh. Gannon then stepped in to post a 5-1 record of his own before Grbac returned to win the club's regular season finale and finish the year with an 8-2 starting record.
McCarthy has an extensive background working in offenses which place a premium on the passing game and precision quarterback play. He coached under current USC head coach Paul Hackett at the University of Pittsburgh from 1989 to 1992 when the Panthers' offense consistently ranked among the nation's best, before joining the Chiefs' offensive staff six years ago. A Pittsburgh native, McCarthy began his coaching career as a linebackers coach at Fort Hayes (Kansas) State in 1987-88, moving to USC in 1989.
A collegiate tight end, McCarthy played at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, where he was a two-time all-conference selection and captain of Baker's 1986 NAIA Division II national champion runnerup team.
Baggett, 46, has spent 14 seasons as a member of the coaching staff at Michigan State, his alma mater, including a 10-year tenure under George Perles from 1983-1992 and the last four seasons (1995-98) under Nick Saban, making nine trips to bowl games along the way.
Under Perles, he coached receivers and running backs, tutoring the receivers for seven years (1983-84, '86-87 and '90-92) and the running backs for three seasons (1985 and 1988-89). During this span, he helped develop All-Americans Lorenzo White and Andre Rison plus NFL starters Mark Ingram and Courtney Hawkins.
After spending two years as receivers coach with the NFL's Houston Oilers (1993-94), Baggett returned to Michigan State in 1995, becoming associate head coach while continuing to work with the wide receivers. Three of the latter--Tennessee's Derrick Mason, Tampa Bay's Nigea Carter and Carolina's Muhsin Muhammad--have become NFL receivers under his tutelage since his return.
Baggett launched his coaching career as offensive backs coach at Bowling Green (1977-80) then served as receivers coach under Joe Salem at Minnesota (1981-82) before joining Michigan State's staff in 1983.
Earlier a three-year starter at quarterback for Michigan State, Baggett closed out his career as the Spartans' all-time leader in total offense with 2,344 yards and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior.
The 38-year-old Washington, who will assist defensive secondary coach Joe Vitt, had one of the longest careers for a defensive back in pro football history, spreading his 15 seasons among three franchises - the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos.
A fourth-round selection of the Cardinals out of Tulane in the 1983 draft, he spent his first four seasons in St. Louis before being traded to the Raiders in 1987, for whom he started all 16 games in five of his eight seasons, recording 17 pass interceptions. Subsequently granted unconditional free agency February 13, 1995, he signed with Denver and played for the Broncos in 1995 and 1996. Released by the Broncos February 14, 1997, he returned to the Raiders for a 15th and final season in 1997.
Washington, out of football in 1998, played in 205 games overall, with 165 starts, posting 37 career interceptions and returning them 418 yards while scoring 4 touchdowns.
A three-year starter and four-letter winner at Tulane in his native New Orleans, he was an all-conference selection at cornerback as both a sophomore and junior. He earlier was a four-year letterman in football, basketball and track at Lutcher High School in Lutcher, La., earning all-state honors at safety in football as both a junior and senior.
Those previously named to Rhodes' staff include: Sherman Lewis, offensive coordinator; Emmitt Thomas, defensive coordinator; Larry Beightol, offensive line; Harry Sydney, running backs; Jeff Jagodzinski, tight ends; Ken Zampese, offensive assistant/quality control; Mike Trgovac, defensive line; Johnny Holland, linebackers; Joe Vitt, defensive secondary; Chuck Knox, Jr., defensive assistant/quality control; Steve Ortmayer, special teams; and Barry Rubin, strength and conditioning.
Elsewhere on the Packers Scene
Executive Vice President/General Manager Ron Wolf announced the signing of wide receiver Bill Schroeder and defensive lineman Billy Lyon to multi-year contracts.
Schroeder, who is going into his fourth NFL season, tied for fourth on the team in receptions in 1998 with 31 despite missing the last three games with a broken right collarbone suffered in the Packers' December 7 game at Tampa Bay.
An impressive preseason performance, which saw him lead the team in receiving with 16 catches for 285 yards in the five-game span, initially had earned him a role as the team's No. 4 receiver. He also joined Roell Preston as the second deep man on kickoffs, backed up Preston as a punt returner and was an understudy as a holder.
Lyon, a member of the Packers' practice squad in 1997, also made strides last season after getting a late-season opportunity to perform. Inactive for 12 of the first 13 games, the 25-year-old Marshall University alumnus received significant playing time as an inside pass rusher in the team's last three contests while serving as the No. 3 tackle and nose tackle, recording six tackles and his first NFL sack during that stretch.
The Packers also have signed outside linebacker Antonio London to a one-year contract, Wolf announced, thereby improving their pass rush potential. Counted upon to be a factor in Green Bay's defense last season, London suffered a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a September 10 practice and spent the balance of the regular season on injured reserve. The Packers had signed the former Detroit Lion, a six-year pro, as a free agent February 24, 1998.
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