I would have commented on this signing immediately had I been near a computer. You all know Ted is my boy! Unfortunately, I was out-of-town, and no-where near a computer. So, it’s been a few days since the Ted Thompson signing, and I am sure everyone has their own opinions, but I suspect that most of the Packer fans are supporting this long-term extension.
The deal was made on Dec.13th, but Mark Murphy decided to wait until after the season to announce the extension of Ted Thompson. The extension leaked out on Friday, and then was made official on Saturday. Thompson had two years remaining on his original five-year contract he signed in 2007, and even though we are not exactly sure how long the extension is, the feeling is that it will be three years so Thompson is locked in for another five years. This is his second extension since taking over the general manager position in 2005.
I think the remarkable thing is that Murphy was in the works of a long-term contract extension with Ted even when the Packers were fighting for a wild card spot. I love the confidence that the Green Bay Packers embody. The contract extension talk in December is just like Mike McCarthy having his players sized for rings the day before the Super Bowl. Murphy knows what kind of GM Ted Thompson is. McCarthy knows what kind of team he has. GO PACK GO!
I mentioned in my ‘Super Bowl’ post about how this year’s Packers are in a totally different position than the last Super Bowl Champion Packers team was in 1997. What’s happening now in Green Bay should have happened in 1997. It never should have been one and done for Super Bowl Championships with Wolf, Holmgren, and Favre, but it was. Even though the Packers remained competitive, they never could get to the Super Bowl until now. The issue with the 1997 was ego and control. Holmgren wanted to be GM, and Wolf didn’t want to give it up just yet, and on top of that they had a power-hungry control freak in the making with Brett Favre. There’s a different tune in Green Bay as there is no ego power struggle in Green Bay. Been there done that.
The Packers are set up for a good run of success now that Thompson has been inked for a number of years, McCarthy will be, and so will Aaron Rodgers. It’s scary to imagine the paths of Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson and how similar they are. However, Thompson found his level-headed head coach in Mike McCarthy and his cool, calm, and collected quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. It’s a tri-lateral bond that not many organizations have. The 1997 Packers were great. The 2011 Packers are better. Harlan, Wolf, Holmgren, and Favre had a beautiful legacy together that shoveled the Packers out of two decades of miserable football. However, Holmgren and Favre put themselves above the organization. It’s sad, but it’s true. The 2011 Packers had to shovel themselves out of Favre’s shadow, the Favre backer/ Thompson haters clan, and all of the insurmountable injuries this year, but it just doesn’t end in 2011. Thompson, McCarthy, and Rodgers are here to stay for a long time, and hopefully with a few more Super Bowl championships.
The Green Bay Packers team and organization embodies what the city is all about: hard-working, a tight-knit community, and abundant success. A lot of owners should remove their ego and take a look at what the personnel department of the Green Bay Packers has done, if they would, there probably wouldn’t be a potential ‘lockout’ looming.
Leave a comment