Michael Philbin, the 21-year-old son of the Packers offensive coordinator, was reported missing Sunday by his family. League sources told ESPN that a body recovered from an Oshkosh, Wisc., river on Monday was identified as the missing son.
The police said they will publicly identify the body at a press conference today. They withheld the name of the individual Monday at the request of the family, but confirmed that the body was that of a man, aged 20 to 25 years old.
The body was discovered after an employee at a nearby business reported hearing cries for help from someone on the icy Fox River around 2:30 a.m Sunday. Police, fire and dive team patrols searched the area, but did not find anyone on Sunday.
A fresh search was conducted on Monday and the body was found around 3:15 p.m., according to Police Officer Joseph Nichols.
Philbins have lived in the Green Bay area since 2003, when Joe first joined the Packers as an assistant offensive line coach. He is one of the nicest and most gentle men you'll meet in football, and his career has ascended rapidly in recent days. The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins both interviewed him for their head coaching jobs, and he is probably on the short list of candidates that Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie would pursue to replace incumbent Hue Jackson.
It would be crass to consider how this tragedy might affect Philbin's career, much less the Packers' preparations for Sunday's divisional playoff game against the New York Giants. Suffice it to say, the organization will move forward this week knowing that one of their longest-tenured and most loyal football employees is going through the cruelest of tragedies.
That of, course, is easier said than done. Go ahead and watch coach Mike McCarthy struggle to make it through his Monday news conference if you don't believe me. (Video via Packers.com.)
We've spent some time on this blog discussing the Packers' community ownership and sense of family. It's no joke. I suspect the Packers will be comforted knowing that the Philbins' private tragedy will be mourned by neighbors they don't know and friends worldwide they've never met. If strength can be found in numbers, the Philbins are in excellent hands.
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