Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren said he told current coach Mike McCarthy last summer that he should not quit calling offensive plays. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — When he was head coach of the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Mike Holmgren considered giving up play-calling several times.

But whenever he thought about the long-term consequences, he gave up on the idea.

"I thought through that myself a few times where you consider it because you're angry," Holmgren said last week. "You wish you had done something different. We all experience it.

"If I ever did that, I would second-guess every call that was made. I know I would. If it didn't work, I'd say I would have called this (instead of that)."

Holmgren, who coached the Packers from 1992-'98 and called the plays throughout, did not want to take part in the Journal Sentinel's experts' review of the current Packers offense, but he was willing to share his thoughts on coach Mike McCarthy giving up play-calling before this season.

When McCarthy made the decision, Holmgren knew exactly why he was doing it. But he also knew there were reasons not to do it, reasons that led Holmgren to keep calling plays throughout his coaching career.

He said he shared them with McCarthy when he was in town last summer for Brett Favre's induction into the Packers Hall of Fame.

"I said, 'I read where you're giving up play-calling,'" Holmgren recalled. "'Mike, don't do that. You're a really good play-caller.' He's very good at that. 'Your body of work is really good. Don't do that.'

"He said, 'I have to spend time with special teams.' I said, 'Special teams, what do you care about special teams?' I was having fun with him. He wanted to coach other things."

Holmgren said he was not surprised when he heard that McCarthy took back the play-calling duties from associate head coach Tom Clements after the second Detroit game in December.

"I think I know the reason he took it back," Holmgren said. "Eventually I'd want to take it back and when you take it back it goofs everything up. It says something to the guy you gave the job to. You don't want to do that. You don't want to get there. And you shouldn't get there because you're good.

"After saying all that, I don't know what percentage, but I think that has had an effect on the offense. That's my own opinion."