Ted Thompson (born January
17, 1953, in Atlanta,
Texas
) is the current general manager of the NFL's Green Bay Packers franchise.
Thompson was named to the post on January 14, 2005 by Packers
president and CEO
Bob Harlan. Thompson
took over the general manager duties from
Mike Sherman who had been serving as both head
coach and general manager. Prior to becoming the Packers' general
manager, Thompson served with the
Seattle Seahawks as their vice president of
operations from 2000 to 2004. Thompson had previously worked for
the Packers organization from 1992 to 1999, serving as their
assistant director of pro personnel in 1992, their director of pro
personnel from 1993 to 1997, and as their director of player
personnel from 1997 to 1999. Thompson also had a 10 year playing
career in the NFL as a
linebacker and
special teams player with the
Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1984.
Biography
Career as a Player
Ted Thompson was signed by the
Houston
Oilers as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Methodist
University in 1975. Thompson won a spot as a back-up linebacker and
special teams player and held this position for 10 years. Although
Thompson only started eight games during his career, he proved
durable playing in 146 of 147 games.
Front Office
Seattle days
Thompson
worked in Seattle
along with
former Packers and Seahawks coach Mike
Holmgren. During Thompson's five seasons in Seattle, the
Seahawks advanced to the playoffs twice. Several players Thompson
helped acquire through the draft played key roles on these teams.
Some of the notable players Thompson selected in his tenure with
the Seahawks were running back
Shaun
Alexander, kicker
Josh Brown, guard
Steve Hutchinson, and
wide receiver
Darrell Jackson,
cornerbacks
Marcus Trufant and
Ken Lucas, safeties
Ken Hamlin and
Michael Boulware.
Thompson did make some questionable first day draft picks in
Seattle, however, including first round pick
Chris McIntosh in 2000, second round pick
Ike Charlton in 2000, first round pick
Koren Robinson in 2001, second round
pick
Anton Palepoi in 2002, third
round pick
Kris Richard in 2002, and
first round pick
Marcus Tubbs in 2004.
In 2005, following Thompson's departure to the Packers, the
Seahawks had their best success in team history, reaching the Super
Bowl.
Packers
2005
Thompson replaced
Mike Sherman as
general manager of the Packers in 2005. When Thompson was hired the
Packers were over the
salary cap for the
upcoming 2005 season. Some of Thompson's first decisions included
declining to resign starting guard
Marco
Rivera and releasing starting guard
Mike
Wahle and starting safety
Darren
Sharper, three key components of the team's three-time NFC
North division championship team. Thompson's first draft netted a
quarterback in first round pick
Aaron
Rodgers, as well as defensive starters in safety
Nick Collins and linebacker
Brady Poppinga. The drafting of Rodgers was
especially notable in that he had been expected to be selected much
earlier in the draft but wound up falling to the late first round.
In free agency following the draft, Thompson signed low-priced
players, picking up guards
Matt O'Dwyer
and
Adrian Klemm to make up for the
losses of Wahle and Rivera. However, O'Dwyer was cut during
training camp, and Klemm was benched towards the end of the season.
Thompson acquired several free agents during the season that proved
more successful, including running back
Samkon Gado, tight end
Donald Lee and wide receiver
Rod Gardner. Still, the team struggled
to overcome injuries at numerous offensive skill positions, most
notably season-ending injuries to #1 running back
Ahman Green, #2 RB
Najeh Davenport and #1 wide receiver
Javon Walker, and Green Bay finished
the season with a 4-12 record, the worst record for the franchise
since 1991.
2006
Thompson's first action during the 2006 offseason was the firing of
head coach
Mike Sherman, stating "This
was more thinking in terms of where we are and where we need to get
to." Sherman was replaced on January 12, 2006 by
Mike McCarthy, who came to the Packers after
previously serving in the role of offensive coordinator for both
the
San Francisco 49ers'
32nd-ranked offense and
New Orleans
Saints. McCarthy also served as quarterback coach for the
Packers in 1999, giving him hands-on experience with franchise
quarterback
Brett Favre and some
familiarity with Thompson. The hiring was considered a surprise to
many in NFL circles, as McCarthy was not considered a prime head
coaching candidate despite the number of head coaching
vacancies.
The Packers entered the offseason with a league best $32 million
available under the salary cap. However, Thompson elected not to
retain several veterans including kicker
Ryan Longwell, center
Mike Flanagan, or
linebacker
Na'il Diggs. Thompson
retained several other veterans, as the team resigned Pro Bowl
defensive end
Aaron Kampman, running
back
Ahman Green, guard
Kevin Barry and fullback
William Henderson to new contracts.
Thompson also was more active in free agency than he was in 2005,
focusing mostly on defense by signing safety
Marquand Manuel from the
Seattle Seahawks, defensive tackle
Ryan Pickett from the
St. Louis Rams, linebacker
Ben Taylor from the
Cleveland Browns, and defensive back
Charles Woodson from the
Oakland Raiders.
In the
2006 NFL Draft, Thompson
amassed 12 picks and continued his restructuring on the defensive
side of the football. With the fifth overall pick in the draft,
Thompson selected linebacker
A.J.
Hawk from Ohio State
. Thompson later added another Big Ten
linebacker,
Abdul Hodge from Iowa.
Thompson also nabbed eventual starter
Johnny Jolly with a 6th round pick. Thompson
also addressed offensive deficiencies during the draft by nabbing
wide receiver
Greg Jennings, guard
Jason Spitz and guard
Daryn Colledge. Several of these draft picks
have contributed almost immediately to the Packers' lineup.
Jennings, Colledge, Spitz, and Hawk started the entire year and a
5th round pick,
Tony Moll, started 10
games in his rookie season while other offensive linemen were out
with injuries. Jennings, Hawk, and Colledge were also selected to
NFL's official all-rookie team.
2007
The 2007 season was a successful one for Thompson and the Packers.
With a league-best $21 million available below the salary cap, the
Packers' lone free agent signing in the offseason was former NY
Giants cornerback
Frank
Walker. There were rumors indicating that the team was
interested in trading for
Oakland
Raiders wide receiver
Randy Moss, but
Moss was instead dealt to the
New
England Patriots. Most notably, in September Thompson traded a
6th round pick in the
2008 NFL Draft
for New York Giants' running back
Ryan
Grant, who was starting by game eight and went on to have an
outstanding season.
In the
2007 NFL Draft, Thompson selected
University of
Tennessee
defensive tackle Justin
Harrell with the #16 overall selection in the first round (they
received this pick from another team). This move was a
surprise selection to many fans because Harrell was not a widely
known player, had a long history of injury, and many felt the team
had more pressing needs.
In addition, more widely-acclaimed players
such as Notre
Dame
quarterback Brady Quinn
were still available at that selection. Fans and draft
prognosticators also widely panned Thompson's selection of James
Jones in the third round. Despite heavy criticism, Jones, and
several of Thompson's other 2007 draft picks, played significant
roles for the Packers during the 2007 season. Although Harrell was
recovering from a college biceps injury, he played in the Packers
final five games. Harrell played in seven games in 2007, starting
in two. He subsequently played in six games in 2008 and is
presently on Injured Reserve.
[265696] James Jones served as the Packers' third
receiver and finished third among rookies in receiving (47
receptions for 676 yards). Other notable members of the Packers'
2007 draft class include running backs
Brandon Jackson and
DeShawn Wynn, who were early season starters
for the Packers,
Korey Hall, who served
as the team's starting fullback, safety
Aaron Rouse, who tallied two interceptions while
filling in for injured players, and kicker
Mason Crosby, who led the NFL in scoring in
2007.
Despite the offseason criticism preceding the 2007 season, Thompson
and the Packers were the surprise team of the NFL through the 2007
season, as they finished the regular season with a 13–3 record. The
Packers made it to the NFC Championship game, losing to eventual
Super Bowl champions the
New York
Giants, 23-20 in overtime.
Thompson was voted Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year for his
2007 work on March 25, 2008.
[265697]
2008
The 2008 off-season and training camp was a rather rocky one for
Thompson. While free agency was quiet, with the team's lone signing
being linebacker
Brandon Chillar,
Thompson was at the center of a controversy surrounding quarterback
Brett Favre's desire to play during the 2008 season. Thompson,
along with Packers' management and head coach
Mike McCarthy, were adamant about their desire
to move on with
Aaron Rodgers as the
team's new starting quarterback. Favre, meanwhile, expressed
frustration with Thompson regarding hiring and personnel decisions.
As a result, on July 11, 2008, Favre asked for his unconditional
release from the Green Bay Packers. Thompson had repeatedly stated
that the team will not release him and at the time were engaged in
a standoff with Favre that could have ended with Favre taking up to
a $25 million buyout to remain retired and participate in a
marketing and merchandising role with the team.
On August 6, 2008, Thompson and Favre agreed on a trade and he was
sent to the New York Jets for a conditional 4th round pick. The
pick was to become a third-round pick if Favre took the majority of
the team's snaps at quarterback, a second-round pick if he took 70
percent of the snaps and the team made the playoffs, and a
first-round pick if Favre took 80 percent of the snaps at
quarterback and the Jets reached
Super
Bowl XLIII. The Jets failed to make the playoffs but Favre took
the majority of the teams snaps; so the 4th round pick became a 3rd
round pick. Favre made the AFC Pro Bowl and led the Jets to a 9-7
record, while the Packers fell to 6-10 including losing 5 of their
last 6 games of the season.
Besides the obvious controversy concerning the Brett Favre
unretirement and trade, Thompson was considerably criticized by his
decision in the 2008 offseason to waive punter Jon Ryan. After an
excellent season, Thompson chose to waive the punter. The punter
was quickly picked up by Seattle and had another impressive season
while the Packers filtered though punters Derrick Frost and Jeremy
Kapinos. Ultimately the loss of a good punter contributed to
several momentum shifts during games due to poor punts aiding the
Packers in achieving a 6-10 season. After the season Thompson went
on record to say that while the team did not perform well at least
they did not spend alot of money on them.
2009
So far in the 2009 offseason, Ted Thompson has continued to uphold
his philosophy to build through the draft. The 1st pick by the
Packers (9th overall) was B.J. Raji, a defensive nose tackle who at
midseason had contributed 8 solo tackles and 3 assists in a back-up
role.
[265698] Ted Thompson, contrary to previous drafts
where he was prone to trade down, traded up to obtain linebacker
Clay Matthews (15 solo tackles, 7 assists, 3 sacks)
[265699] with the 26th pick in the draft. Thompson
also made some resignings in the offseason with Jarrett Bush,
Tramon Williams, Michael Montgomery, Atari Bigby, and John Kuhn to
name a few. Besides that there have been few moves by the Packers
organization.
Thompson has come under criticism
[265700] for the quality of the offensive line
after starting QB
Aaron Rodgers has
been sacked a league-high 37 times
[265701] as of midseason. After the Packers
handed the previously winless
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers their first win of the season, discussion has
begun as to whether the Packers should continue on with Thompson as
their General Manager after the 2009 season.
[265702]
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