The Ted Thompson Term

When Ted Thompson took over prior to the 2005 season, most Green Bay Packers fans welcomed the change.  Despite the fact that previous general manager Mike Sherman had led the Packers to four straight double-digit win seasons and playoff births, his stint had been widely considered a disappointment.

The Packers had failed to make it out of the divisional playoff round in each of those seasons and posted a playoff record of 2-4 during that span.  Packers fans might have been ready for change, but no one could have anticipated the roller coaster ride Thompson would take them on for the next four years.

Thompson arrived in Green Bay with little fanfare, but much respect from around the league.  He was tagged as a draft guru, having formerly handled the duties as the vice president of football operations with the Seattle Seahawks.

Packers president Bob Harlan swore by him and the stellar Ron Wolf said, "That's a great hire.  He's the right man for the job." 

All the talk was great, but actions speak louder than words.  Thompson made his presence felt right away, quickly decimating Green Bay's spectacular offensive line.  He let Pro Bowl guard Marco Rivera walk while also releasing their other starting guard, Mike Wahle, and starting center, Grey Ruegamer. 

On top of that, Thompson released arguably the team's best defensive player, Darren Sharper. 

The biggest shock of all came during the draft, however, when he used his first round selection on quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  The 35-year old Brett Favre was on the downside of his career, but was coming off of a very productive season and was showing few signs of deterioration. 

Needless to say, when Thompson spent his first round pick on Favre's replacement, eyebrows were raised. 

To finish the off-season, Thompson began his trend of making little noise in free agency by scrapping together an interior offensive line of Matt O'Dwyer and Adrian Klemm.  The result of Thompson's opening season was devastating. 

On top of his offseason moves, Thompson lost his leading receiver after one game and his leading rusher after five games due to injuries, causing the team to finish an embarrassing 4-12.

Thompson did not take this failure sitting down.  He came out swinging yet again in the 2006 offseason, firing head coach Mike Sherman and replacing him with successful offensive coordinator and former Packers quarterback coach Mike McCarthy. 

Then he continued to shed veterans by letting ultra-accurate kicker Ryan Longwell go, along with starters Mike Flanagan and Na'il Diggs.  He uncharacteristically signed a big-name free agent in Charles Woodson and a starting defensive tackle in Ryan Pickett. 

The future also began to look brighter with the draft picks of A.J. Hawk and Greg Jennings, who would become big difference makers over the next few years.  The team would improve to 8-8 in 2006 and take an even bigger step to 13-3 in 2007. 

Success was left on the back-burner though, and criticism quickly came to the forefront.  Even though Green Bay improved by five games from '06 to '07, Thompson was ridiculed for his lack of activity and poorly received draft class.

The biggest criticism of the 2007 off-season derived from Thompson's inability to reel in Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders.  Brett Favre was publicly expressing his desire to add Moss to his arsenal, and the cheap price of a mid-round draft pick seemed like too good of a bargain to pass on. 

Yet, it was a price Thompson was not willing to pay.  Al Davis would later recollect about the trade talks, "That guy in Green Bay thought he (Moss) couldn't run any more."  Moss proved he could still run, accumulating nearly 1,500 yards in his first year with the Patriots, in addition to a record breaking total of 23 touchdowns. 

On top of that, Thompson shocked everyone in football by selecting the injury plagued Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick.  The fears about Harrell's health prove to be justified, as he started his career on the inactive list and only suited up for 13 games during his first two seasons.

Those situations were bad, but they did not even sniff the unforgettable handling of Brett Favre in the 2008 off-season and ensuing fan uproar.  Favre had retired, but was still very much remembered by the Cheese-heads.

It did not help when Bonita Favre, Brett's mother, said, "He has felt like that for the last couple years, that the Packers didn't really want him back." 

Similar testimony to Bonita's came from the rest of Favre's family and friends, and Thompson was quickly painted as the man who not only failed to put pieces around Brett, but the man who ran Brett out of town as well. 

Thompson attempted to plead his case by saying he handled Favre no differently than he did in the past, but he was not very convincing.  He claimed, "It’s not my place to try to convince someone that they’re making a bad decision or a good decision."  In Favre's case, that attempt at convincing might have been what he craved.

Now when Ted Thompson's name is typed in on a search engine, half of the results are links to sites calling for his head. 

Thompson has made the Packers one of the youngest teams in the league.  He has brought them from being over the salary cap to securely under it.  He has kept them competitive over the past few seasons and brought in a franchise quarterback. 

Nevertheless, the argument is made that he should be fired.  He inherited a contender and has kept it a contender.  In order to solidify his legacy in Green Bay, he will need to turn his contender into a champion.