We're about to find out a lot about two men in the Packer organization, men we actually know nothing about. And what we do know about GM Ted Thompson doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence in most Packer fans. Ted Thompson's decision not to try and retain guard Mike Wahl and his failure to bring in anyone to successfully play at either guard position is still fresh on everyone's mind. Packer fans are still scratching their heads wondering about the fact he left the team without much in the way of receivers and running backs after injuries decimated the team because he was determined not to bring in just anybody but rather an impact player. Only when things got really desperate, and he had to bring in somebody to fill in the roster, there was no one left out there at all to bring in and Thompson had to settle signing a bunch of nobodies.

Sorry but guys like Taco Wallace and Andre Thurman are not NFL caliber players let alone impact players. In my opinion, that was a huge glaring mistake on Thompson's part for not having the sense to grab the best of what was out there at the time when he knew the team was in need of someone at wide receiver that could actually produce. He waited too long and the talented receivers were eventually picked up by other teams leaving the Packers with Wallace and Thurman.

And though the jury's still out on Thompson's ability to spot young college talent, his first draft with the Packers certainly left a lot of questions on everyone's minds. The 11 picks did not provide a great deal of impact in a 2005 season that due to injuries, left a lot of opportunities for them to step up and be noticed. However, two of the picks did not make the team. Sixth-round pick Craig Bragg, a wide receiver out of UCLA, was cut before the season opener. He was signed to the practice squad but was eventually waived. And seventh-round pick Kurt Campbell, a linebacker out of Albany, suffered a torn anterior cruciate in training camp and spent the season on injured reserve. Another draft pick, offensive lineman Junius Coston, remained on the roster for the entire season but never played a down as he was a game-day inactive for all 16 games.

But two of the draft picks became starters as Safety Nick Collins started all 16 games at free safety, and guard Will Whitticker started 14 games at right guard. However, Whitticker struggled at times and was eventually benched at the end of the season. There are no guarantees he'll be a starter in 2006.

Of course, it's fair to say we didn't seen enough of Aaron Rogers to know anything about him. But the fact is that Thompson's first crack at bringing in talented college draft picks, remember Samkon Gado was a free agent signing and not a draft choice of Thompson's, so if his first draft class was graded on a scale of 1-5, 5 being low, it would receive a 4 in my opinion.

And so now we're going to find out what kind of man Thompson is at choosing coaching talent. He's going out on a limb by bringing in a virtual unknown guy to be the head guy at Green Bay. And it's not like that hasn't been done before and was successful. Look at the Raiders in 1998 when they hired a young unknown by the name of John Gruden. Or when the Eagles picked an obscure assistant by the name of Andy Reid. And let's not forget, before most Packer fans knew who Ron Wolf was, his choice of Mike Holmgren was not met with a lot of enthusiasm either. But in reality, those are isolated cases. Most of the time, if the guy is inexperienced, he's not going to make a head coach. There are a lot more of those scenarios out there than the successful ones.

So Thompson's choice is risky at best. and while it's true he was bent on bringing in a young, fresh coach, willing to develop young players and shared his philosophy of rebuilding through the draft, Thompson has hired a guy who comes with no experience as a head coach, has never been with team that's gone deep into the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl, and will have to have enough respect among his peers to be able to bring in a strong supporting cast two work with him. And let's not forget that Thompson hired McCarthy knowing he's probably going to lose Jim Bates as defensive coordinator.

And what about defense? Does he keep Jim Bates? Does Jim Bates stay after being snubbed for the head coaching position himself? Who does he get to replace Bates if he does go? And that's just the tip of the ice berg. Does McCarthy have enough respect in the world of football at his age and inexperience to be able to amass a strong supporting cast? That's as important as who you get to be head coach. The head coach can't do the job alone and having a weak staff around him would be disastrous. So one would have to assume McCarthy impressed upon Thompson that he could, in fact, be able to put together a strong staff or why else hire him?

Oh, let's not assume anything at this point in the game. We still don't know enough about the Packer GM.

So now it's a matter of wait and see. All Packer fans will now have to sit back and watch this whole storyline unfold in Green Bay. We'll all watch for the first sign of who McCarthy is by the assistant coaches he brings in. We'll see what kind of draft he and Ted Thompson have this year. Having the fifth pick can really be helpful to a new coach looking to quiet his nay-sayers. And while neither man wants to call it a rebuilding phase, what and see what happens in the draft. That will tell a lot about both men and the future of the organization.

So we're going to find out if Thompson knows something most others don't or if he's just going down the wrong path by picking McCarthy over others with more experience is a huge risk. What I found funny was the reaction that decision got from Ron Wolf. Even Thompson's mentor was surprised at Thompson's choice. It was reported that Thompson had consulted with Wolf on the candidates and when the word came down he had gone with McCarthy, Wolf basically said if that was the way Thompson wanted to go, then so be it. Side note: not exactly a sparkling endorsement.

A quick check of McCarthy's resume turns up some interesting facts, however, some that are fairly impressive.

Of course there is one major disadvantage McCarthy has that Reid and Gruden could hang their hat on, and that's the fact that McCarthy has never been on a team that has made it to the Super Bowl or advanced deep in the playoffs. As a result, there are going to be doubters about whether McCarthy knows how to get a team to the Super Bowl.

So we're about to find out a lot about two relatively new people in the Packer organization in the near future. And it ought to be revealing, if nothing else. If it turns out that the first person is real good at what he does, then we can expect the second person to be real good at what's he's never done before in his life. Keep your fingers crossed, Packer fans, along with keeping the tar and feathers handy.

Until next time ... Keep Driving Forward