Mike McCarthy capped his fifth season as coach of the Green Bay Packers with a Super Bowl championship. Now he's about to enjoy the financial spoils of victory.
The finishing touches are being put on a three-year extension that will keep McCarthy under contract with the Packers through the 2015 season, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told the *Milwaukee Journal Sentinel* on Tuesday.
The deal will pay McCarthy about $5 million annually, approximately a $1 million bump from his 2010 salary. It's believed the extension will make the 47-year-old among the 10 highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
Packers president Mark Murphy has said that extending general manager Ted Thompson's and McCarthy's deals, which were scheduled to expire in 2012, was a priority following Green Bay's 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV earlier this month.
The Packers locked up Thompson last week with a three-year extension that also will take him through 2015. Murphy's goal was for the coach and GM to have contracts that mirror each other in length. Both men previously signed five-year extensions in 2008.
McCarthy has found great success in Green Bay, compiling a 53-34 overall record since taking over head-coaching duties from Mike Sherman in 2006. The Packers' victory over the Steelers brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Wisconsin for the first time since Brett Favre quarterbacked the team to its third Super Bowl title in January 1997.
McCarthy was named the 14th coach in Packers history on Jan. 12, 2006. He previously had served as the team's quarterbacks coach in 1999, working with Favre.
McCarthy later had a successful run as offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 2000 to 2004. He served as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2005.
