Front Office

• Of the 53 players on Green Bay’s Super Bowl XLV championship roster, 49 of them had been acquired by Thompson since 2005.
• The Packers’ eight Pro Bowl selections in 2010 were the most by the team since 1967, with six of those players either drafted or signed by Thompson.
• Awarded George Young NFL Executive of the Year by Sporting News in a vote of his peers in March 2008.
• Named to his position Jan. 14, 2005, his second stint with the organization. Earlier served eight years with Packers (1992-99) – as assistant director of pro personnel (1992), director of pro personnel (1993-96) and director of player personnel (1997-99).
• Served five seasons (2000-04) as Seattle Seahawks’ vice president of football operations.
• Combining the drafts he has run in Seattle and Green Bay, 18 of Thompson’s selections have earned Pro Bowl, All-Pro or All-Rookie honors.
• Nine starters on Seattle’s Super Bowl XL team, including league MVP RB Shaun Alexander and K Josh Brown, were drafted by the Seahawks during Thompson’s tenure.
• Enjoyed a 10-year playing career with the Houston Oilers (1975-84), becoming one of the most durable players in Houston annals by playing in 146 of 147 games, missing just one contest due to injury. Signed by Bum Phillips as a non-drafted free agent.
• Was a three-year starter (1972-74) at linebacker and team captain (’74) for SMU, gaining Academic All-Southwest Conference honors, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and also lettering in baseball as a senior.

Ted Thompson firmly believes that the best way to build a successful team is by drafting and developing players, with free agency playing a complementary role in addressing specific needs.

Now six-plus years into his tenure as Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations, Thompson’s philosophy was further validated last season with a win in Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay’s fourth Super Bowl title and 13th world championship.

A look at the Packers’ roster for Super Bowl XLV indicates a team truly built by Thompson. Nineteen of 22 starters and 49 of 53 players on the roster were acquired by Thompson via the draft, free agency, trades or the waiver wire during his six seasons in Green Bay.

In 2010, the Packers posted a 10-6 mark and qualified for the postseason for the third time under Thompson. Winners of three straight playoff games on the road, Green Bay became just the second No. 6 seed (2005 Steelers) to win a Super Bowl since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.

The Packers featured eight Pro Bowl selections in 2010, the most by a Green Bay team since 1967. Four of those players – S Nick Collins, LB A.J. Hawk, WR Greg Jennings and LB Clay Matthews – were draft picks of Thompson’s. Two more, CBs Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson, were signed by Thompson as free agents. It was the third straight Pro Bowl selection for Woodson, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 who was signed by Thompson in ’06. QB Aaron Rodgers, who was named to the Pro Bowl in 2009 and earned MVP honors for Super Bowl XLV, was Thompson’s first draft selection as Green Bay’s GM in 2005.

What made the Packers’ championship season in 2010 even more notable was the adversity the team faced due to injuries. Green Bay finished the year with 15 players on injured reserve, and eight of them had started at least one game on the season. Six starters from the opening-day depth chart sustained season-ending injuries in the first seven games.

Because of those injuries, the roster depth that Thompson had built during his tenure came to the fore. Rookies such as T Bryan Bulaga, a first-round draft pick in 2010, and CB Sam Shields and LB Frank Zombo, both non-drafted free agents, were called upon to step into prominent roles. A pair of fourth-year players, LB Desmond Bishop and S Charlie Peprah, moved into the starting lineup and became key cogs on defense after contributing primarily on special teams earlier in their careers. RB James Starks, a sixth-round pick in 2010 who was limited to just three games during the regular season because of an injury, led the NFL with 315 rushing yards in the postseason, third most in league annals by a rookie RB in the playoffs.

Thompson also made two midseason acquisitions that played vital roles in Green Bay’s success down the stretch. The Packers signed free agent OLB Erik Walden on Oct. 27, and that same day, claimed veteran DE Howard Green off waivers from the N.Y. Jets. Walden played in nine games with two starts, and also opened three contests in the postseason. Green appeared in nine games as well, starting three contests in the regular season and three more in the playoffs.

The Packers’ Super Bowl XLV team was a direct reflection of the philosophy that Thompson has held true to throughout his Green Bay tenure, one that should put the franchise in good position to contend for championships on an annual basis.



Since taking over as GM in 2005, Thompson has focused on rebuilding and improving the bulk of the roster, mostly through the draft.

In his first four drafts from 2005-08, Thompson utilized 14 trades, all but one of them down, to turn 31 picks into 43 selections, plus an extra choice in ‘09. In 2009-10, however, his trades went in the other direction as the improved roster core allowed him to focus less on the overall quantity of picks. Those two years, Thompson traded up for specific players he had targeted in certain rounds.

In ‘09, after selecting Boston College NT B.J. Raji with the No. 9 overall selection in the first round, Thompson traded a second-round pick and two third-round selections – Nos. 41, 73 and 83 overall – to New England to get another crack at a first-round talent. He moved up 15 spots to No. 26 overall and nabbed Matthews out of USC, while also receiving a fifth-round pick in return from the Patriots.

Just like that, not only did Thompson give the Packers two first-round draft choices for the first time in 16 years, he added highly touted prospects at the two linchpin positions in the 3-4 defense – a middle anchor and outside pass rusher.

In addition to Matthews earning a Pro Bowl bid as a rookie, both he and Raji made the prestigious Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team. Matthews took another step in 2010, becoming the first Packer since RB John Brockington (1971-72) to earn Pro Bowl recognition in each of his first two seasons while also finishing as the runner-up to Steelers S Troy Polamalu for Defensive Player of the Year honors from The Associated Press. Raji posted 6½ sacks last season, the most by an NFL nose tackle since 1990, on his way to being named a Pro Bowl alternate.

Bulaga, the No. 23 overall pick in 2010, went on to start the final 12 regular-season contests at RT in place of injured veteran Mark Tauscher, and also opened all four playoff games. Bulaga was named to the All-Rookie team by PFW, joining Raji and Matthews as three straight first-round picks by Thompson to be honored by the publication. Combining the drafts he has run in Seattle and Green Bay, 18 of Thompson’s selections have earned Pro Bowl, All-Pro or All-Rookie honors.

Thompson also traded up in the third round in 2010, surrendering a fourth-round choice to Philadelphia to move up 15 spots to No. 71 overall and take S Morgan Burnett of Georgia Tech. Burnett became only the second Packers safety to open the season as a starter since 1988 before his rookie campaign was cut short by a knee injury in Week 4.

In the 2011 NFL Draft, Thompson added 10 more players to a talented roster, highlighted by T Derek Sherrod out of Mississippi State in the first round and WR Randall Cobb from Kentucky in the second.



Thompson followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Ron Wolf, in becoming Green Bay’s GM, and in 2008 he joined Wolf in becoming only the second person in the history of the organization to be recognized as the best in his field.

Honored in March 2008 in a vote of his peers as the George Young NFL Executive of the Year by Sporting News, Thompson left an undeniable stamp on the Packers’ successful 2007 season. In just his third campaign as GM, he assembled a roster that was the youngest yet one of the most talented in the NFL, and the Packers went 13-3, won the NFC North Division title, and advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in a decade.

“I’m honored to receive this award on behalf of the Green Bay Packers,” the humble Thompson said. “We view this as a team honor and feel the coaches, players and staff should all be very proud of the job they’ve done in helping this franchise succeed.”

The prestigious award acknowledged Thompson for his diligence and success as the team came within an overtime field goal of advancing to the Super Bowl. But it also served as recognition for Thompson’s overall body of work since taking his current position in 2005.

One of the biggest additions to the playoff-bound team came from a key trade. Thompson acquired RB Ryan Grant from the New York Giants at the end of training camp for a sixth-round draft choice, adding the former Notre Dame standout to a crowded but banged-up backfield.

Grant eventually took over as the feature back midway through the season and proceeded to rush for nearly 1,000 yards, adding 201 yards and three TDs in the NFC Divisional playoff victory over Seattle, both Green Bay postseason records. He added back-to-back 1,200-yard campaigns in 2008-09 before missing every game but one last season due to an ankle injury.

Surprising many with the hiring of Mike McCarthy as head coach in January 2006, Thompson embarked on turning around a 4-12 team beset by injuries and salary-cap concerns in his first season. The improvement to an 8-8 mark in 2006, followed by the playoff run in 2007, netted McCarthy the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year award and placed both Thompson and his chief hire at the top of their professions.

Thompson’s career as a football executive came full circle on Jan. 14, 2005. That day, former Green Bay Packers CEO Bob Harlan gave him full authority over all aspects of football operations for the storied franchise.

In becoming the 10th general manager in club history, Thompson rejoined the team with which he received his start under Wolf in 1992. After working for the legendary general manager through the 1999 season, Thompson spent five years as vice president of football operations for the Seattle Seahawks.

“It’s almost a dream come true-type job,” Thompson said. “You think about, when you’re a young kid, some of the things you’d like to do when you grow up and you think maybe manager of the New York Yankees or maybe the general manager of the Green Bay Packers. So it’s a thrill, it’s an honor.”

For Harlan, the selection of Thompson to lead Green Bay’s football fortunes was an easy choice, and Thompson has validated that confidence in his selection by successfully remaking the roster into one he and the organization believe is built for long-term success.

“I feel Ted is a perfect fit for the Packers,” Harlan said, introducing Thompson in 2005. “He is a respected National Football League veteran who is a proven talent evaluator and an efficient administrator. He knows the people in our personnel department and he is familiar with how we run our football operation. He embraces the Packers’ championship tradition, and he was very anxious to have the opportunity to return to Green Bay.”

Now in his 30th NFL season, including 10 years as a player, Thompson knows and respects the position the Packers hold in the hearts of the fans, and around the league.

“The history and tradition of this place is unrivaled in professional sports,” Thompson said. “I understand the passion the people here have for their team. Ron (Wolf) told me this is the best job in the National Football League. I never forgot that.”

The 58-year-old Thompson not only joined an organization with which he was familiar, but also oversees a respected staff that includes Reggie McKenzie, who holds the title of director-football operations, and John Dorsey, director of college scouting, each of whom worked under Thompson during his first tenure in Green Bay.

Almost immediately upon taking over, Thompson made a crucial choice for the long-term benefit of the club. In the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers had been projected as high as the No. 1 overall pick, but he wasn’t taken there and ended up sliding all the way down to the Packers at No. 24. One year later, Thompson handed Rodgers to an accomplished quarterback mentor in McCarthy to mold him into the team’s signal caller of the future.

In 2008-09, following the retirement and subsequent trade of Brett Favre, Rodgers became the first quarterback in league history to eclipse 4,000 yards passing in each of his first two seasons as a starter. His career passer rating of 98.4 entering 2011 ranks No. 1 in NFL history, and his 12,394 passing yards from 2008-10 rank No. 2 in league annals behind only Kurt Warner (12,612, 1999-2001) for the most passing yards by a QB in his first three seasons as a starter.

Although Thompson prefers to shift the spotlight in another direction, his fingerprints were all over the Seahawks’ road to Super Bowl XL during the 2005 season. NFL MVP Shaun Alexander, Thompson’s first draft pick in Seattle, in 2000, captured the 2005 league rushing title and established a then-single-season NFL record with 28 touchdowns. Nine of Seattle’s Super Bowl starters, as well as K Josh Brown, were drafted by Thompson. That list includes G Steve Hutchinson, a Pro Bowler in seven of his 10 NFL seasons.

Seattle could’ve gone in another direction in the 2000 draft. With perennial 1,000-yard rusher Ricky Watters on the roster, the club didn’t need a running back in the first round. But with the Seahawks on the clock holding the 19th overall choice, Alexander was the best player available. One year later, in the 2001 draft, Thompson wanted Hutchinson in a similar situation.

“You have to do what you think is best for the organization,” Thompson said before the 2006 draft, when he chose Hawk with the fifth overall selection. “A draft is an investment in a player that’s going to be here for a number of years.”

Thompson’s philosophy on building a successful team relies heavily on drafted players as a foundation. In today’s NFL, teams can’t win consistently with free agency as their primary tool. And in building through the draft, the Packers place a premium on character.

But despite how much value he places on the draft, Thompson also will use the free-agent market as another tool to build the roster. In Green Bay, he has brought in players like Woodson, DE Ryan Pickett and LB Brandon Chillar, among others, to either take over starting jobs or provide valuable, experienced depth at their positions.

“I think free agency is a very interesting tool to use to help you patch some holes and do some things,” said Thompson, who signed five unrestricted free agents in 2006, the Packers’ most since 1998. “There’s no reluctance on our part. We do try to make certain that what we do is not just fantasy football. We’re investing in a player that’s got to come in and play a particular role. If we don’t think that player can perform to that contract, then it doesn’t make sense for us to do it just to say, ‘Look what we’ve spent.’”

In Green Bay annals, Thompson is only the fourth general manager to serve exclusively from the front office, joining Verne Lewellen (1954-58), Vince Lombardi (1968) and Wolf (1992-2000).

The low-profile Thompson has a proven track record as an evaluator. Overseeing Seattle’s draft board from 2000 through ’04, Thompson provided the Seahawks a solid foundation which they used to make three straight playoff appearances (2003-05). His 2003 draft saw Thompson land three players – Brown, CB Marcus Trufant and S Ken Hamlin – who not only made immediate front-line contributions as rookies, but who also became cornerstone players for years to come.

Just one year later, those three were instrumental in Seattle’s 2004 NFC West championship. In the Seahawks’ playoff game that year, 11 of 22 starters were acquired through Thompson’s drafts.

In his first two Green Bay drafts, Thompson selected Collins in 2005 and Hawk, Jennings and G Daryn Colledge in 2006. All four were named to the PFW All-Rookie Team. In 2007, he also drafted K Mason Crosby, whose 509 career points are the second most in NFL history by a player in his first four seasons.

Prior to 2009, Thompson selected 43 players in his first four drafts as GM, signaling the rebuilding of the roster core that had seen only 27 draft picks in the four years (2001-04) before Thompson returned to Green Bay.

As a result, offseason competition for positions on Green Bay’s 53-man roster has been fierce since Thompson took over, and should only become more intense in training camp in 2011. The goal is to improve the team’s play through competition, just as it was when Bum Phillips annually brought in younger talent to try to take Thompson’s job during the former linebacker’s 10-year playing career with the Houston Oilers.

A former Oilers teammate, Mike Reinfeldt, helped to launch Thompson’s second football career. In 1992, Reinfeldt, then the Packers’ vice president of administration, recommended that Wolf take a look at Thompson as a potential pro scout for his staff. Wolf subsequently brought Thompson in to audition as a personnel evaluator, and Thompson always has felt he learned a lot from Wolf.

“He taught me passion, he taught me work ethic, he taught me believing in yourself, to have confidence, to write down what you see, not what other people see, and to trust yourself.”

During his first tenure in Green Bay, Thompson was instrumental in providing talent that produced an 83-45 record, six straight playoff berths, two Super Bowl appearances and the 1996 world championship. With his help, the team acquired free agents Reggie White, Sean Jones, Don Beebe, Santana Dotson and Desmond Howard.

Through the draft, Green Bay added Darren Sharper, Vonnie Holliday and Donald Driver, one of the franchise’s lowest-drafted Pro Bowlers.

A possessor of strong football credentials and keen knowledge of the game gleaned from his decade-long playing career, Thompson credits Wolf with deepening his understanding of the scouting process and cites his experience in Seattle working with Mike Holmgren as very valuable in terms of his growth as a football person, running an organization and making decisions that affect the team in the present and in the future.

A versatile linebacker during his 10-year NFL playing career with the Oilers (1975-84), Thompson also was one of the most durable players in team annals, missing just one of 147 contests due to injury. He started eight games over the course of his career and also played in seven postseason contests (1978-80), with the Oilers going 4-3 in those games, losing the AFC Championship to the Steelers in both 1978 and ’79. He originally was signed by Phillips as a non-drafted free agent.

Thompson’s Oilers teammates included Pro Football Hall of Famers Earl Campbell, Mike Munchak, Elvin Bethea, Warren Moon and Bruce Matthews, current Packer Clay’s uncle. Thompson also served as a reserve kicker and converted all four PATs he attempted in an emergency situation vs. the New York Jets in a 1981 contest.

Collegiately, Thompson was a three-year starter (1972-74) at linebacker and team captain (’74) for SMU. As a sophomore, he played under head coach Hayden Fry, and Phillips, his eventual pro coach, was defensive coordinator. He also served as the team’s placekicker as a senior. Following his football career, in the spring of ’75, he lettered as an outfielder for the Mustangs’ baseball team. Thompson gained Academic All-Southwest Conference honors and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Born in Atlanta, Texas, Thompson was an all-region player at the city’s high school, lining up at running back, linebacker and placekicker. He also lettered in basketball, baseball, track and golf. He is single and enjoys an occasional round of golf in times of leisure.