Thompson underwent a grueling nine-day search to tab Mike McCarthy the franchise’s 14th head coach (Jan. 12, 2006).

McCarthy guided the Packers to a resilient four-game winning streak to close his first season as head coach with an 8-8 record, keeping the team in contention for the playoffs until the final weekend of 2006, when mere percentage points dubbed the Giants the NFC’s last postseason qualifier.

McCarthy was disappointed the Packers just missed the playoffs, particularly because the team was as healthy as it had been all season and was playing its best football the last month. But the NFL’s youngest club carried that momentum into 2007, winning its first four games and ultimately tying the franchise record for regular-season victories with a 13-3 mark. McCarthy also tied Sherman’s team mark for the most wins by a head coach in his first two seasons (21).

With Joe Philbin taking over as offensive coordinator, Ryan Grant emerging at midseason as a feature back, and Favre enjoying a brilliant final season in Green Bay, the offense finished second in the league, its highest ranking since 1983.

Packers vs Seahawks Grant then posted franchise playoff records of 201 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 42-20 snow-filled NFC playoff triumph over Seattle at Lambeau, but the club’s quest for a fifth Super Bowl appearance came up agonizingly short.

In the third-coldest game in NFL championship history, with a temperature of minus-1 and wind chill of minus-23 at kickoff, Green Bay fell at home, 23-20, in overtime to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game.

In 2008, the torch was passed to Aaron Rodgers from Favre, who retired in March with virtually every significant NFL passing record, un-retired in July and was traded to the New York Jets during the first week of training camp. Rodgers became just the second quarterback in league history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in his first season as a starter, and the offense produced a 4,000-yard passer, 1,200-yard rusher (Grant) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Greg Jennings, Donald Driver) for the first time in team history.

On defense, the team set a franchise record with seven touchdowns, including six on interception returns, leading to Pro Bowl berths for three-fourths of the starting secondary in Nick Collins, Charles Woodson and Al Harris. But that wasn’t enough to overcome injuries and other shortcomings on that side of the ball, and with the team losing seven games by four points or less, the final 6-10 mark was just the franchise’s second losing season dating back to 1992.

That led to a series of changes on the coaching staff, most of them on defense, as McCarthy hired Dom Capers as his new defensive coordinator to institute a switch to a 3-4 scheme. The players responded faster than most predicted in 2009, climbing all the way to No. 2 in the league in yards allowed and No. 1 against the run for the first time in team history, setting a franchise record for fewest rushing yards allowed per game (83.3).

That defensive prowess was highlighted by Woodson winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, rookie Clay Matthews leading the team in sacks, and Collins joining both as Pro Bowl honorees. Combined with another dynamic season on offense – as the quartet of Rodgers, Grant, Jennings and Driver repeated their feat of the prior year and a new franchise record for points (461) was established – the Packers won seven of their final eight regular-season games to finish 11-5 and earn an NFC Wild Card playoff berth.

Rodgers earned his first Pro Bowl nod and made a memorable postseason debut, throwing for a Green Bay postseason-record 423 yards and record-tying four TDs as he rallied the Packers from a 21-point second-half deficit. Emerging tight end Jermichael Finley also set a team playoff mark with 159 yards receiving and tied a team postseason record with nine receptions.

Ultimately the Packers came up short, however, dropping a 51-45 overtime heartbreaker in Arizona, the highest-scoring postseason game in NFL history. But the disappointment fueled a determination and the late-season surge sparked a genuine optimism heading into 2010.

Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy holds up the Super Bowl XLV Lombardi trophyThat optimism led to high expectations, and the Packers became a popular preseason pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Boasting both a deep and maturing roster, and relative scheme continuity on both sides of the ball, prognosticators felt confident Green Bay was primed for a deep playoff run.

The team got out to a 3-1 start in the season’s first quarter, but injuries to key players mounted, and that perceived roster strength would be put to the test. Grant, a back-to-back 1,200-yard rusher, was lost for the season in Week 1. Finley, the team’s leading receiver entering Week 5, was also placed on injured reserve, as was linebacker Nick Barnett, the second all-time leading tackler in franchise history. By season’s end, the Packers would allocate 15 players to the season-ending injured list. In what was a true testament both to Thompson’s assembly of the roster and the coaching staff’s tireless commitment to getting players ready to contribute, the Packers never blinked.

Rodgers led the offense by throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and posting a quarterback rating of 101.2. Jennings picked up the slack in the absence of Finley, finishing with 1,265 yards and earning his first selection to the Pro Bowl. Defensively, the Packers again thrived under Capers’ detailed instruction, ranking No. 2 in the NFL in scoring defense at 15.0 points per game. Matthews proved that his rookie campaign was no fluke and became a dominant pass rusher off the edge. Voted a Pro Bowl starter and consensus first-team All-Pro, he finished with 13.5 sacks and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year by various publications. In the secondary, Woodson followed up his stellar 2009 run with another solid season, setting career highs in tackles and forced fumbles and becoming the team’s emotional leader throughout. His counterpart at corner, Tramon Williams, emerged as a standout cover man and led the team with six interceptions, earning his first bid to the Pro Bowl, where he was joined by Collins, who was chosen for the third consecutive year.

Despite the constant fluidity of the gameday lineup, the Packers hung tough in all 16 games. Their six losses came by a combined 20 points, and they became the first team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to never trail a game by more than seven points over an entire season. They finished the regular season with a 10-6 record following consecutive home wins in the final two weeks, and secured the sixth and final seed in the NFC’s playoff bracket.

Taking to the road for the NFC playoffs, the Packers started by bottling up the explosive Eagles’ offensive attack and winning the opening-round Wild Card game at Philadelphia by a score of 21-16. The task wouldn’t get any easier the following week as they traveled to Atlanta to take on the No. 1-seeded Falcons. After an initial back and forth, Green Bay exploded with a 28-point second quarter and never looked back. On the strength of a near-flawless display of quarterbacking by Rodgers, and two crucial interceptions by Williams, the Packers hammered the Falcons 48-21, the second-largest margin of victory in team postseason history.

For the NFC Championship, the Packers faced their division rival, the Chicago Bears, for a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1997 season. Despite the rich, 182-game history of the rivalry, the game marked just the second-ever meeting between the two teams in the postseason. On a 20-degree afternoon at Soldier Field, the Packers got out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The opportunistic defense forced three Chicago turnovers, highlighted by an improbable 18-yard interception return for a touchdown by Raji that put Green Bay ahead 21-7 late in the fourth quarter. Rookie cornerback Sam Shields sealed the 21-14 win on the Bears’ final drive, making his second interception of the game to send the franchise to its fifth Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl pitted the Packers against the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers. In what was billed as a matchup between two renowned 3-4 defenses, it was the Green Bay offense, led once again by the exceptionally precise Rodgers, that was the difference. The Packers stormed out to a 21-3 lead in the first half, with two touchdowns coming off the arm of Rodgers and one on an interception return by Collins. Under circumstances reflective of the entire season, the Packers were forced to overcome injuries, as veteran stalwarts Driver and Woodson were both ruled out of the game late in the first half.

The Steelers fought their way back, but a forced fumble by Matthews at the start of the fourth quarter led to another Rodgers touchdown pass. Forcing a turnover on downs on Pittsburgh’s final drive, the Packers won the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl, 31-25.

In the months that followed the season, both Thompson and McCarthy were rewarded with multi-year contract extensions that will keep them in Green Bay for the foreseeable future. With an unquestioned franchise quarterback, a nucleus of young veterans, and a roster even further bolstered by the return of injured players and a 10-man draft class, all eyes were set on the quest for another world title in 2011. Due to a league-wide work stoppage that began in early March, the Packers – like the rest of the other clubs – were deprived of an offseason program that would have fostered continued development and the integration of newly selected rookie players. The ongoing labor negotiations meant that the players first convened as a team at the start of training camp in late July. With an abbreviated training camp schedule and a bull’s-eye affixed firmly to their backs as the reigning champions, the Packers would have to rely on their stable roster and established schemes to help pick up where the team had left off at its peak in early February. And that they did. Beginning with the NFL’s season-opening Thursday night spectacle against the high-powered New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field, the Packers stormed through the regular season, reeling off a team-record 13 consecutive wins en route to a franchise-best 15-1 record. The team became just the sixth in NFL history to reach the 15-win plateau, and when combining the start of 2011 with the six wins that closed out 2010, the 19-game winning streak was the longest in team history and second longest in league annals. The franchise laid claim to its first NFC North division title since 2007 and secured the conference’s No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Throughout the season, the recipe for success was written by Rodgers and a prolific offense that scored 560 points, the second-highest total in league history. Rodgers finished the season having completed 343 of 502 attempts for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns with only six interceptions, earning the league’s Most Valuable Player award and consensus first-team All-Pro honors from almost every major publication. His 122.5 cumulative passer rating set a new NFL record and he also eclipsed the previous franchise single-season marks for yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, yards per attempt and 300-yard games. The Packers continued to display their knack for taking the football away on defense, leading the NFL with 31 interceptions, the most by a Green Bay team since 1962. Woodson tied for the NFL lead with seven INTs, and Matthews set a new career high with three of his own. The defense’s 38 takeaways tied for the league lead and helped contribute to an aggregate plus-24 team differential in the turnover department, a mark that also tied for No. 2 in franchise history. Joining Rodgers, Woodson and Matthews in the Pro Bowl were Jennings, FB John Kuhn, Raji and C Scott Wells, giving the Packers seven representatives, the most voted in for the franchise since 1967. In the postseason, Green Bay fell victim to uncharacteristic, costly turnovers in its only contest, and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the Divisional round, 37-20. Having not experienced playoff disappointment during 2010’s memorable run, the loss to the Giants left a foul taste in the team’s collective mouth, along with several assurances that there would be a renewed determination and focus on the ultimate prize in 2012. The Packers entered the 2012 campaign with strong motivation and a recalibrated focus that centered upon getting the team to peak at the right time: the end of the regular season and playoffs. With that in mind, the club overcame its share of adversity in the season’s early going, recovering from a 2-3 start to win 9 of 10 games in Weeks 6-16 and putting itself in prime position for the postseason. With a win at Chicago in Week 15, the Packers secured their second consecutive NFC North title, marking the franchise’s first back-to-back divison conquest since 2002-04. During the regular season, it was once again a Rodgers-led offense that forged the team’s identity. The unit ranked No. 5 in the league in scoring despite being plagued by injuries throughout the season. Five different players started at running back in addition to five different combinations on the offensive line and primary targets Jennings and Jordy Nelson missing 12 full games combined and parts of others with various ailments. Defensively, the Packers made significant strides after a challenging 2011, climbing all the way to No. 11 overall in pass defense on the strength of an 81-yard-per-game improvement over the previous season. Matthews was on his way to his finest statistical season when he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 9 that shelved him for more than a month. He still managed to finish fifth in the NFL with 13 sacks and became the first player in franchise history to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons in the league. The defense was also aided during the season by the emergence of rookie cornerback Casey Hayward. A second-round draft pick, Hayward led the team and all NFL rookies with six interceptions. He became the first Packers CB to ever be named (since 1974) to the Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie team and finished third in the voting for The Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year. Finishing the season with an 11-5 record, the Packers laid claim to the No. 3 seed in the NFC and a Wild Card matchup with the division-rival Minnesota Vikings. The game marked the two teams’ third meeting over a six-week stretch, and this time, the defense managed to keep league MVP Adrian Peterson in check while Rodgers and the offense mounted a 24-3 margin en route to a 24-10 victory. In the following week’s divisional-round contest at San Francisco, the 49ers’ offense proved too much for Green Bay to handle, and despite only trailing 24-21 at halftime, a second-half surge saw the Packers ultimately fall 45-31. The typically quiet Green Bay offseason was highlighted by long-term contract extensions for both Matthews and Rodgers that promise to keep the two franchise cornerstones in Green Bay for the foreseeable future. Their presence, combined with an ascending young core of veterans and the addition of an 11-man draft class, looks to once again have the Packers among the NFL’s elite in 2013. The Packers welcomed the 2013 campaign with fresh optimism and the excitement of an upgraded facility, as the organization put the finishing touches on the first phase of another Lambeau Field construction project that was highlighted by the addition of 6,700 new seats in the south end zone of the stadium bowl. While the development project was completed smoothly, the 2013 season would be anything but for the Packers as the club was beseiged by injuries to key players at a host of positions. Bryan Bulaga, Randall Cobb, Finley, Hayward and Matthews all missed significant portions of the season. However, the most devastating blow came against the Bears in Week 9, when Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone that would sideline him for the ensuing seven games, a stretch that saw the team post a 2-4-1 record in November and December. Despite the volume of adversity encountered throughout the season, there were a number of positives within a locker room of players who stuck together throughout. First and foremost was the emergence of rookie RB Eddie Lacy, who powered the Packers to the No. 7-ranked rush offense in the league and led all NFL rookies with his franchise-record 284 carries, 1,178 yards (4.1 avg.) and 11 TDs. Lacy became the first Packers rookie on offense to earn a bid to the Pro Bowl since WR James Lofton in 1978, was named second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press, and most notably, became the first Packer since RB John Brockington in 1971 to be voted the recipient of the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. Another bright spot was the play of backup QB Matt Flynn, who returned to the club in November and assumed starting duties in the wake of Rodgers’ injury. Flynn breathed life into the staggering team, keeping its playoff hopes alive by leading critical comeback victories in Weeks 14-15 that helped set the stage for a memorable finish. Rodgers returned in Week 17 with the Packers holding a 7-7-1 record and needing a victory at the archrival Bears to advance to the postseason. With the season on the line in the waning moments of the finale, the veteran quarterback escaped pressure on a fourth-and-8 play and found Cobb wide open downfield for a game-winning 48-yard TD, clinching the Packers’ third consecutive NFC North division title in dramatic fashion. The division championship made Green Bay the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and earned the franchise a home playoff game in the Wild Card round for the second year in a row. The game matched the Packers against San Francisco, and the two teams slugged it out amid frigid single-digit temperatures that were accompanied by negative windchills. With the game tied at 20-20 late in the fourth quarter, the 49ers managed a 14-play drive that burned the remaining 5:06 off the clock and kicked a game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired, eliminating Green Bay for the second consecutive season. With an offseason to rest and nine new additions through the draft, the Packers are ready to hit the ground running in 2014. The Packers are currently 7-3, and are hopeing for a good playoff run led byb Aaron Rodgers.