Report: Board of Directors instructed Murphy to remove Thompson from G.M. job
Florio's reporting of the McGinn story.
Yikes. I hope to hell "the board" knows WTF they are doing.
Making the article even more intriguing is the manner in which it seems to hint in passing at the possibility of a new G.M. making a coaching change, primarily by pointing out that Thompson was never going to move on from Mike McCarthy. Now that the Packers are moving on from Thompson (as the G.M.), the question becomes whether the next G.M. will decide to stick with McCarthy.
However, Florio gets paid in clicks too. If they stay within house at GM, the odds are MM is back for at least next year.
Herschel posted:FinnLander posted:SteveLuke posted:Yeah Jax must really regret all those FAs they signed to improve their D (Campbell, Church, Bouye) last offseason.
And NE always regrets their high-level of free agent activity (both big time FAs like Gilmore and Revis and lots of older vets signed to bargain contracts) as it only ends with them in a Super Bowl practically every year.
Stephon Gilmore, cornerback, New England Patriots
The Patriots signed Gilmore — an original 10th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2012 — to a generous five-year, $65 million contract. This was after Gilmore originally said he wanted to earn at least $14 million per year.
For the money Gilmore is earning, he should be contributing at a high level, rather than getting burned in coverage. After missing three games this season for health reasons, Gilmore has nabbed just two interceptions and has defended only eight passes. In his final season with the Bills, Gilmore achieved a career-high five interceptions.
Gilmore is not exactly a bright star on a Patriots defense that is yielding 373.9 yards on average each game.
First, you cite a site called "Yardbarker" as proof of anything.
Second: New England's major issue is no pass rush, which is why they signed Harrison. Their leading pass rushers are Trey Flowers and weak-side linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who are decent, but there's no primary guy there.
I understand the credibility issue regarding the source, but trust me, Gilmore was worth nowhere near the money. Being so close to Buffalo, we're saturated with Bills' coverage and Gilmore was not highly thought of by fans, media or Bills management. There was no urgency to keep him.
Could be the BOD tried to “encourage” TT to make moves that he wouldn’t normally make and he balked. Wouldn’t surprise me. In a normal year they probably would just let it go, but in losing years the front office doesn’t have the clout to get their way. I just hope, if indeed this is what happened, that this doesn’t become a trend. We have operated so efficiently for years partly because the BOD doesn’t interfere...we don’t need an owner that noses into the football side. They handle the business side, the football people handle the football side.
I am not one of those that believe MM is all that and would have his choice of jobs if let go. . Wasnt it earlier in the year that AR had to correct him taking a penalty that made it first and five instead of first and ten. Not one of his assistants has had any success. I am not sure that AR doesnt cover for MMs inadequacy of coaching just as he covers for the inadequacy of the defense.
Concerns about his cognitive ability, yet he still has a job in the front office?
He was never Mr Personality in his pressers. Has there been a noticeable / significant difference in what we see?
All I've noticed is he has slowed some when answering questions, but his answers sound very much the same in 2017 as they did in 2005.
The guy did play ST for 10 or so years as a wedge buster.
The McGinn article doesn't give the impression that the board of directors were trying to impact personnel moves on the team. Sounds like there was concerns regarding his mental health by members of the board and other executives with the team. A friend of Thompson used the word "foggy" when describing him.
Who called the shot(s) with the Adams and Linsley signings?
Probably Russ Ball. He’s the contracts/cap guy. My impression is that once TT makes the decision to re-sign or sign a player that all that gets turned over to Ball.
From a human standpoint if there is anything to this report good luck to Ted. Life and health is bigger than football. He still is a young man.
Thompson, at the time of these deals, was still Ball's boss.
Unless the decision on Thompson was done weeks ago.
MichiganPacker posted:PackerJoe posted:michiganjoe posted:Interesting to find out how much of this was a TT decision and how much of it was a shove from Murphy. Dorsey was my first choice and it's unfortunate it played out the way it did. My guess is they likely stay in-house and MM suffers the same fate as Infante and Sherman in a year or two when the GM wants his own guy as coach.
McGinn posted an article this morning that indicates the board of directors were heavily involved in this decision and there are concerns regarding Thompson mental health.
That's alarming if true, but after some of the photos of TT in the press box recently, it's not out of the question. He had the kind of look you see in dementia or Parkinsons patients at times.
Or me during the Sunday sermon.
WTF? Who is floating these rumors? McGinn?
Making it sound like Rodgers gets hurt & the entire house of cards comes tumbling down.
It's simply time for a change. Why not have TT do the job he's passionate about which is watching tape & scouting?!?!
The last thing we need is the BoD or Murphy to start running the football side of this team.
If TT is having health issues, then he should be taken care of immediately.
Humans not robots.
Ted Thompson to transition to senior advisor to football operations: https://t.co/gfxAWG5TLt pic.twitter.com/nneQRFNBxn
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 2, 2018
Official announcement from the team.
Statement from Murphy:
Highsmith is interviewing for Asst. GM job in Cleveland. He’s a guy we should keep. 27-1-2 record as a heavyweight boxer, I want my GM to be able to beat up everyone else’s GM.
I just don't see it with Florio's take. Can anyone point to a similar situation, where a long time GM was effectively demoted without his agreement? Long tenured GMs aren't demoted, they're fired. It just doesn't happen in pro sports. I think it's been a discussion point with the board, Murphy and TT for at least a year but like everything else with the Packers, they don't leak this stuff so when it comes out, it's a huge surprise to the media who the tries to attach a sexier take to it.
Again, the facts just don't line up with the idea of the board forcing TT's removal. 13 year tenured GMs don't just go along with a forced demotion. It just doesn't happen in this league. That is, unless TT is fully on board. Which I think he is.
I do not disagree because I have seen this situation(Thompson to senior advisor) speculated about several times during the year! Now who initiated the speculation and who might be the driving force is subject to debate!
It's one way to keep Thompson on board and not lose him or his knowledge to another team. Maybe it is time and he wants to ease on out the door, maybe he was forced, maybe it is a health issue. I am inclined to think it is a health issue or that he wants to slow down. What his being bumped to a consultant-type role does do is save face for Thompson.
If they wanted him out he would have been fired. If he wanted to step back, I think he and the team would have said it was time for him to do so and here's who is taking over. Which is why this really might be a health issue. He might be following the path of Pat Summitt of Tennessee basketball.
This blog linked below from August says basically the same thing about health concerns. It's clearly been a topic of discussion in Green Bay behind the scenes for a while.
If you believe these discussions (and there's a lot of smoke here that generally points to a fire), then this is something that's been an issue for a few years. But you can't "reassign" someone against their wishes who as a GM has made the NFC Championship game 2 of the previous 3 years.
https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/...ith-ted-thompson-443
But when I listen to Ted over the past few years, it's painful. He sounds slow, sometimes aloof and, for lack of a better way to describe it, drunk. It's not lost on me that Thompson may have or may still be dealing with health issues leading to some of what we see and hear. That he's still Packers GM leads me to believe that those issues can't be life-threatening but how much might they be affecting Ted?
Speaking of McGinn, the framework of his website is a dumpster fire. Not speaking to the content, but his links are broken all over the place.
"I'm a newspaper man" may explain his lack of web savvy.
MichiganPacker posted:It's clearly been a topic of discussion in Green Bay behind the scenes for a while.
Wilde said the same thing on his show this morning.
michiganjoe posted:MichiganPacker posted:It's clearly been a topic of discussion in Green Bay behind the scenes for a while.
Wilde said the same thing on his show this morning.
Does Wilde think its CTE? He certainly has a lot of the symptoms.
Wilde just said it's privately been a topic of discussion within the organization.
<chorus>
Patty knew Ted
wasn't right in the head
from the git go
from the git go
<repeat>
Hungry5 posted:Concerns about his cognitive ability, yet he still has a job in the front office?
If, indeed, the Packers mishandled the second designation to IR for Rodgers, I wonder if that aroused more concerns from the BOD and others?
They did not mishandle the final IR move for Rodgers.
As Andrew Brandt noted, players are put on IR late in the year for a hang nail.
MichiganPacker posted:michiganjoe posted:MichiganPacker posted:It's clearly been a topic of discussion in Green Bay behind the scenes for a while.
Wilde said the same thing on his show this morning.
Does Wilde think its CTE? He certainly has a lot of the symptoms.
I didn't want to be the one to bring it up but could he be the first NFL front office guy to be diagnosed?
DH13 posted:MichiganPacker posted:michiganjoe posted:MichiganPacker posted:It's clearly been a topic of discussion in Green Bay behind the scenes for a while.
Wilde said the same thing on his show this morning.
Does Wilde think its CTE? He certainly has a lot of the symptoms.
I didn't want to be the one to bring it up but could he be the first NFL front office guy to be diagnosed?
Given that the most recent study showed that 110 of 111 former NFL players examined after death showed evidence of CTE, it's probably not whether he had it but to what degree. Especially, given being a guy at the bottom of the roster every year he was much less likely to admit he was hurt at all.
https://www.nytimes.com/intera...ootball/nfl-cte.html
The bigger issues (bigger than just football) right now are the following:
1. If TT is impaired, is he getting help? He needs some top-flight medical care if that is the case and he has no family. Whatever you thought of his professional productivity (and I thought he was a very good GM), he gave a lot of years to the Packer organization. Are they going to help take care of him over the next decade?
2. Where was the media on all this? There are all these rumblings that a lot of people knew for a while, but no one ever reported this? I realize it's just football and, in the scheme of things, it's not important, but why did no one ever look into this? I think we know why (access), but it just shows the local guys aren't interested in doing sports journalism. McGinn or Christl would have been more likely to look into this more seriously. If TT was doing the GM job at less than full capacity for several years, not saying anything not only hurts the product on the field, but also tarnishes his legacy as well.
Grave Digger posted:Probably Russ Ball. He’s the contracts/cap guy. My impression is that once TT makes the decision to re-sign or sign a player that all that gets turned over to Ball.
The problem with the Packers is not the salary cap/finances, it is player personnel. Don't know how you improve that by hiring a guy who has no background in scouting and player evaluation.
Gsands posted:MichiganPacker posted:PackerJoe posted:michiganjoe posted:Interesting to find out how much of this was a TT decision and how much of it was a shove from Murphy. Dorsey was my first choice and it's unfortunate it played out the way it did. My guess is they likely stay in-house and MM suffers the same fate as Infante and Sherman in a year or two when the GM wants his own guy as coach.
McGinn posted an article this morning that indicates the board of directors were heavily involved in this decision and there are concerns regarding Thompson mental health.
That's alarming if true, but after some of the photos of TT in the press box recently, it's not out of the question. He had the kind of look you see in dementia or Parkinsons patients at times.
Or me during the Sunday sermon.
As a member of the clergy I represent that! 😱
Murphy speaking now... so far, no mention of health concerns. Commented twice that Thompson is a "scout at heart", and had mentioned that as far back as last spring, and then again this past week.
Murphy is an even worse Public speaker than the president.
My 86 year old father has had progressively worse Parkinson's and dementia issues for the past 5 years or so. Many/most days he's "foggy", disoriented and cant remember anything in recent memory. But he does remember some things from years ago, but not a lot. Still has some relatively decent days where he can hold a conversation, but many days slurred speech and unintelligible responses are the norm. When this all first started his facial expressions with the blank kinda stare and open jawed lost look are exactly what we've seen from recent TT shots on TV.
Realizing TT is 22 years younger than my dad these sort of issues can happen for folks even younger. So, without inside info I think maybe there is something going on with TT's cognitive ability. Just not as advanced as my dads current state. While I think McGinn is trash for reporting it, he inferred the move to oust him was a result of recent interaction with other senior Packer execs, as well as visual indicators.
Thompson is still the GM, until the new GM is in place.
GM will have same power as today.
McCarthy is the coach for 2018-19.
McCarthy has the power to get coaches now, does not need to wait for new GM.
"The problem with the Packers is not the salary cap/finances, it is player personnel."
Don't know how you can say that. There are plenty of teams without proven back up quarterbacks. How good is Brees' backup? Rivers'? Newton's? Ryan's? So going into the season with someone like Hundley is just standard practice and completely defensible given the guaranteed need for backups at virtually every other position .
It's pretty well acknowledged for a number of years that Caper's defense has been more a mystery to the Packer's players than their opponents . I don't think you can indict the general level of talent until you see how they perform when they know what to do. The success of players released by the Packers (Hyde, Peppers, Heyward) shows the issue was more about "fit". But the only real fit for Caper's defense seems to be HOF level talent.
James Harrison went to NE and played about half the defensive snaps after 1 week of practice. He had 2 sacks and also played pass defense. He admitted he didn't know the defensive playbook very well but players told him what to do when he was unsure. He'd be in Caper's defense 2 years before he was "assignment sure".
Murphy said BoD / Exec Cmmte had no say on the decision, it was his as it is his job. Also mentioned it was discussed with Thompson.
Murphy did not directly address the part of the question with regard to health, though he commented how it is a grueling job/schedule.
Hungry5 posted:Murphy speaking now... so far, no mention of health concerns. Commented twice that Thompson is a "scout at heart", and had mentioned that as far back as last spring, and then again this past week.
Props if this is a face-saving move to not publicize TT's oft-speculated-on health problems. It also saves GB face as they probably held onto TT as GM too long when/if many things were evident for a while.
Ted Thompson thank you for bringing me to Green Bay in 2006 and giving me a chance to play in the green and gold. Enjoy your new role, We’ll always have SBXLV @packers #GoPackGo
— Charles Woodson (@CharlesWoodson) January 2, 2018