Green Bay Packers employees were informed Monday that the body of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's 21-year-old son, Michael, was found in a river in Oshkosh, Wis., and identified, NFL Network's Albert Breer reported.
Packers players, who weren't made available to reporters, took to Twitter to post supportive messages for Philbin.
"As children we all have to someday say goodbye to our parents, but a parent should never have to say goodbye to their child," said offensive lineman T.J. Lang, whose father, Thomas, died last week.
"Live in the present," Raji tweeted.
Police in Oshkosh had been searching for 21-year-old Michael T. Philbin, the second-oldest of Joe and Diane Philbin's six children, since Sunday night. He disappeared at about 2 a.m. Sunday after an outing with friends in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus area, about 50 miles from Green Bay.
Joe Philbin spent Monday in Oshkosh, where divers recovered the body of a man between the ages of 20 and 25 from the Fox River in late afternoon after a security guard reported hearing cries for help from someone on the ice.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Philbin family during this difficult time," Packers general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement released by the team.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy addressed the situation during his weekly news conference, saying the team has a "family-first organization." McCarthy also said the team had contingency plans in place if the offensive coordinator couldn't be with the team this week, ahead of Sunday's divisional playoff game against the New York Giants.
Although the offensive-minded McCarthy calls his own plays and has a hands-on role with game planning, Philbin's behind-the-scenes detail work with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense would be missed.
"We're prepared to do whatever we need to do as a staff to make sure our team's ready to go," McCarthy said, brushing aside a question about what the team would miss if it didn't have Philbin's input this week. "We'll be ready to go."
Philbin has been with the Packers since 2003 and has been the team's offensive coordinator since 2007. He interviewed for the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins' head-coaching jobs last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
