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Thompson steps down from GM post

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Ted Thompson

It would appear that the Green Bay Packers are serious about shaking things up after a disappointing 7-9 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

The NFL Network first reported that GM Ted Thompson would step down and a search for his replacement would begin immediately.  Thompson’s contract is set to expire after next season and he’s expected to move into an advisory position within the personnel department.

The search won’t be limited to just in-house candidates.  That list includes director of football operations Eliot Wolf, director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, senior personnel advisor Alonzo Highsmith and vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball.

Among the top candidates outside of the organization are Minnesota assistant general manager George Paton, Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas and Baltimore Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta.

Also to be considered is what to do with head coach Mike McCarthy, who is entering the final year of his contract.  Team president Mark Murphy must decide whether to extend McCarthy’s contract regardless of who the new GM is, or he can leave McCarthy’s fate in the hands of the new GM.

Thompson was hired by Ron Wolf in 1992 and stayed with the Packers until 2000, when he left to join former Packers coach Mike Holmgren with the Seattle Seahawks.  Thompson served as Seattle’s vice president of football operations until 2005 when he was hired to take over the general manager position in Green Bay.

Mark Murphy is expected to meet with reporters to discuss the latest move on Tuesday.

 

 

More Packers joining Hall of Fame discussion

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Former Packers Head Coach Mike Holmgren

Former Packers Head Coach Mike Holmgren

Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren, safety Leroy Butler and receiver Sterling Sharpe were among the 94 players and coaches nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2017.

Holmgren served as the Packers head coach from 1992 to 1998 and never had a losing season.  He led the team to a pair of Super Bowls, winning one of them.

Butler played his entire career with the Packers, from 1990-2001 after being drafted in the second round of the 1990 draft.  He played in 181 career games and has a Super Bowl ring.  Butler was named to the 90’s All Decade Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and entered the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2007.

Butler was also credited with inventing the Lambeau Leap. [Read more…]

Favre was one of the best ever

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Brett Favre receives Hall of Fame Jacket / Photo: Thanks to Lance Allen-WTMJ-TV

Brett Favre receives Hall of Fame Jacket / Photo: Thanks to Lance Allen-WTMJ-TV

Being a first ballot Hall of Famer was never in doubt for Brett Favre.  His 20-year NFL career helped revitalize a Green Bay Packers franchise that was on life support.

During his career, he won a Super Bowl and played in two with the Packers.  He was a game away from playing in a third, as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

Ron Wolf, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, took a chance on Favre.  He traded a first round pick to Atlanta to get him.  Doctors said a hip injury would shorten Favre’s career, but Wolf rolled the dice and it paid off.

Favre’s head coach at the time, Mike Holmgren, as well as quarterbacks coach Steve Mariucci deserve a lot of credit.  Favre was talented, but he was a stallion that needed to be broken.  It took some doing, but the common theme between them was winning. [Read more…]

Hall of Fame means Favre’s journey is complete

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Brett Favre is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer

Brett Favre is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre became the 24th member of the organization to be voted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and just the fifth to do it in his first year of eligibility.

Favre became the 74th individual to be voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility overall.  He’s joined by former Packers assistant coach Kevin Greene who ranks third all-time in sacks while playing for the Rams, Steelers, Panthers and 49ers.

This class also includes receiver Marvin Harrison, quarterback Ken Stabler, tackle Orlando Pace, guard Dick Stanfel, coach Tony Dungy and owner Edward DeBartolo, Jr.

Unlike the other members of this class, Brett Favre is directly responsible for reviving an organization that had gone through a couple of decades of losing. [Read more…]

Wolf joins Hall of Fame greats today (AUDIO)

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Ron Wolf

Ron Wolf

Former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf becomes the 23rd member of the Packers organization today to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Wolf’s son Eliot, who is the Packers director of player personnel, said he cried when his mother called him in January with the news that his dad had been elected.  Eliot Wolf said he used to joke with his dad that when he got into the Hall of Fame, he would present him.

So that is how it is going down today.  Eliot Wolf will present his father as he enters football’s biggest shrine.

Wolf joined the Packers in 1991 and led the franchise’s turn-around.  He started by hiring Mike Holmgren as his coach and trade a first round pick to Atlanta for quarterback Brett Favre.  Once the ball started rolling, then it was time to make a big free agent splash.  That’s when Wolf enticed Reggie White to sign with the Packers.  [Read more…]

Former Packers GM headed to Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Ron Wolf

Ron Wolf

The man who brought the Green Bay Packers back from the dead, received the ultimate reward when he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

It was Wolf that took over in 1991 in Green Bay, hired Mike Holmgren, then traded a first round draft pick to Atlanta for Brett Favre and eventually, helped lure Reggie White to Green Bay in free agency.  The cornerstone pieces were in place and the Packers eventually won the Super Bowl in 1996 and finished runner-up the following season.

“I’m complete overwhelmed,” Wolf told a group of reporters after the NFL Honors program on Saturday night.  “My induction is the result of a lot of people making it happen.  It’s more of a team thing.  There were a lot of great players and coaches that helped you get where you are.” [Read more…]

McCarthy gets multi-year extension from Packers (AUDIO)

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Mike McCarthy - UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Mike McCarthy – UPI/Bill Greenblatt

The Green Bay Packers announced the signing of head coach Mike McCarthy to a multi-year contract extension.  Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed, but the new deal likely keeps McCarthy in line with general manager Ted Thompson’s new deal that he signed in July.

In a statement from Ted Thompson, the Packers general manager said, “We are very happy to extend our relationship with Mike.  Over the past nine years, he’s provided great stability and consistency to the Packers organization and our community as an excellent coach and leader.  He’s a good man and we look forward to the future with Mike as our head coach.”

McCarthy’s 98 wins rank third all-time in team history behind Curly Lambeau (212) and Vince Lombardi (98).  McCarthy is ahead of Mike Holmgren (84) and Mike Sherman (59).

AUDIO: Mike McCarthy on being 5-wins away from Vince Lombardi :21

AUDIO: Mike McCarthy asked how much longer he’ll coach :15

AUDIO: Mike McCarthy isn’t looking ahead, trying to make the best of the here and now :19

Since taking over a 4-12 Packers team in 2006, Green Bay has reached the postseason six times under McCarthy.  He won the NFC North four times, reached two NFC Championship games and won the Super Bowl back in 2010.

 

 

Holmgren is out in Cleveland

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Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren is being forced out in

Mike Holmgren

Cleveland.

Jimmy Haslam was introduced as the Browns’ new boss after NFL owners unanimously approved his $1-billion purchase from Randy Lerner. 

Haslam followed the approval of the owners by announcing that former Eagles president Joe Banner would become chief executive officer.  That move takes effect Oct. 25th. [Read more…]

Holmgren sets the wheels in motion for Packers

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The Green Bay Packers were an organization going nowhere for two-plus

Mike Holmgren

decades.  That’s when general manager Ron Wolf hired Mike Holmgren to coach the Packers.  It was that move that set the wheels in motion once again for the Green Bay Packers organization.

Holmgren led the Packers into the playoffs in six of his seven seasons, compiling an overall record of 75-37.  The Packers won the NFC Central three times and NFC Championship twice.  Under Holmgren, the Packers won the Super Bowl in the 1996 season.

Those accomplishments will land Holmgren into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in late July.  Ron Wolf will be Holmgren’s presenter during the July 21st ceremony. [Read more…]

Mike Holmgren headed for Packers Hall of Fame

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The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. will induct former Packers

Mike Holmgren

coach Mike Holmgren into the Hall at the 42nd Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, to be held Saturday, July 21, 2012, in the Lambeau Field Atrium.

Holmgren coached the Packers from 1992 through 1998, leading the Packers to a 84-42 overall record and a Super Bowl XXXI title during the 1996 season.  Under Holmgren, the Packers had seven consecutive winning seasons, a club-record six straight playoff berths and back to back Super Bowl appearances.

His 84 victories is the third most in franchise history, trailing only Curly Lambeau (212) and Vince Lombardi (98).  Holmgren’s 1996 Super Bowl championship team led the league in both points scored (456) and points allowed (210) becoming one of only 12 teams in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since 1972.