By Shereen Siewert
Ted Thompson, former Green Bay Packers executive vice president, general manager and director of football operations died Wednesday, officials confirmed. He had just celebrated his 68th birthday on Jan. 17.
Thompson is credited with building a solid Green Bay Packers team that recorded a 125-82-1 record with nine playoff appearances and four NFC championships over 13 seasons. The Packers also won a Super Bowl in 2011 under Thompson’s leadership.
“His impact is still felt today when you look at our roster,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday. “I just know how important he was to many people in this building.”
A former linebacker and special teams player for the Houston Oilers, Thompson played 146 games over 10 years before entering the personnel ranks. He began his career in Green Bay as a scout under then-general manager Ron Wolf before eventually being named director of personnel. He left Green Bay to work for the Seattle Seahawks as GM from 200 to 2004 but returned to the Packers organization in 2005, taking over for then-head coach Mike Sherman.
As GM, Thompson hired coach Mike McCarthy and drafted many of the team’s top players including Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Clay Matthews, Randall Cobb, Mason Crosby, Davante Adams and other standouts. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2019.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Packers reporter Tom Silverstein was first to report the news on Thursday.
