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Ted Thompson
Executive Vice President, General Manager & Director of Football Operations
Ted Thompson firmly believes that the best way to build a successful
team is through the draft, and that philosophy hasn't changed in his four-plus years as General Manager of the Green Bay Packers.
In his first four drafts as GM from 2005-08, Thompson focused on rebuilding and improving the core of the roster. He did that by utilizing 14 trades, all but one of them down, to turn 31 picks into 43 selections, plus an extra choice in 2009. Heading into organized team activities (OTAs) in late May, 29 of those draft choices were on the Packers' 80-man offseason roster that will serve as the foundation for the 2009 team.
What did change in the most recent NFL Draft, though, was how Thompson went about that building process.
After selecting Boston College nose tackle 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 USC outside linebacker Clay Matthews 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 - a middle anchor and outside pass rusher. Staying true to the draft as the foremost method to build the roster, Thompson believes the work of the previous four years and the newest additions this spring will help the team move quickly past the sub-.500 campaign of last year and get back to the tremendous success enjoyed just two seasons ago.
"We feel like we had an opportunity to draft two very good players that are going to add to our group," Thompson said after the first day of the draft, "and we felt like it was worth it."
Thompson followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Ron Wolf, in becoming Green Bay's GM, and last year 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 The 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."
A glance at the roster for the 2007 NFC Championship indicates a team truly built by Thompson. Twelve of 22 starters, 32 of 45 gameday actives, and 40 of 53 players on the full roster that day were acquired by Thompson via the draft, free agency, trades or the waiver wire in his first three years here.
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 star 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.
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 becoming executive vice president, general manager and director of football operations in 2005.
Surprising many with the hiring of Mike McCarthy as Head Coach in January of 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 the 2000-04 campaigns 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 28th 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 56-year-old Thompson not only joined an organization with which he was familiar, but also oversees a respected staff that includes Reggie McKenzie and John Schneider, who both hold 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, Aaron 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, following the retirement and subsequent trade of Brett Favre, Rodgers became only the second quarterback in league history to eclipse 4,000 yards passing in the season that included his first start.
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-NFL single-season record with 28 touchdowns. Nine of Seattle's Super Bowl starters, as well as kicker Josh Brown, were drafted by Thompson. That list includes G Steve Hutchinson, a Pro Bowler in seven of his eight 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 LB A.J. 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 CB Charles Woodson, DT 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 (1992-2001).
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 with 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 S Nick Collins in 2005 and G Daryn Colledge, WR Greg Jennings and Hawk in 2006. All four were named to the
Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team during their first seasons, and Collins made his first Pro Bowl in 2008, boosting Thompson's total of draftees who have earned All-Rookie, All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors to 12. In 2007, he also drafted K Mason Crosby, whose 268 points are the most by a player in NFL history in his first two seasons.
Prior to this year, 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 2009. 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 should 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 Bum 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, new addition Clay's uncle. He 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. He 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.
THOMPSON AT A GLANCE
- Awarded 'George Young NFL Executive of the Year' by The Sporting News in a vote of his peers in March 2008.
- During the 2007 NFC Championship, 32 of the 45 active players on gameday had been acquired by Thompson in his first three years here.
- 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, 12 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 running back Shaun Alexander and kicker Josh Brown, were drafted by the Seahawks' on Thompson's watch.
- 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.
- Oilers teammates included Pro Football Hall of Famers Earl Campbell, Mike Munchak, Elvin Bethea, Warren Moon and Bruce Matthews.
- 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.
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