Green Bay, Wisconsin – former Packers General Manager Ted Thompson – who drew up the draft Aaron Rodgers, Substituted Brett Favre and built the team that won the Super Bowl XLV-Matt, according to coach Matt LaFleur. He was 68 years old.

Thompson, who played 10 NFL seasons with the Houston Oilers (1975 to 1984), served as Packers General Manager from 2005 to 2017. The Packers transferred him to an advisory role for the 2018 season in part due to his declining health.

In May 2019, after entering the Packers Hall of Fame, Thompson announced that he was suffering from autonomic disorder, a condition that causes weakness and cognitive problems. Packers chairman Mark Murphy did not mention Thompson’s health as the reason for the decision to remove him from the general manager position immediately after the 2017 season.

Thompson said at the time of his announcement that his doctors did not believe his condition „would be consistent with that of someone suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy”.

„Our condolences to his family,” LaFleur said on Thursday. „He’s definitely a man with the highest respect in this building and I think he’s in the league. He’s had a tremendous impact, not just on the people in this building and obviously Gotti.” [current Packers GM Brian Gutekunst] And a lot of our employees, but also people in other departments. His influence is still felt to this day when you look at our roster, but I think it had an enormous impact among so many people across the league when you look at the other GM who learned under him.

„We sure are sitting here with heavy hearts today. I’ve only had a few opportunities to meet him over the past two years, but I just know how important he is to so many people in this building.”

Rodgers was the first draft of Thompson’s selection as General Manager Packers, who fell ahead of Green Bay in 24th overall.

Ahead of the 2020 draft, Gutekunst, who served as a scout under Thompson’s leadership, described the decision as brave given that the Packers were still playing Favre at a high level.

“To have the courage at the time to do it, and what that decision did for the organization for a number of years to come, stuck in my mind,” Gutkunst said. „It would have been easy to do something different. He thought this was the right thing to do, and he did. That was always stuck with me.”

Weeks later, Gutekunst chose quarterback Jordan love In the first round.

Thompson oversaw the move from Rodgers to Favre, where he swapped Favre to the New York Jets in August 2008. Although Thompson infuriated some fans for a draft and development plan – largely ignoring agents with big bucks for free – he and coach Mike McCarthy, Appointed by Thompson in 2006, forming a team that reached four NFC title matches (2007, 2010, 2014, 2016) and made eight consecutive play-off matches (2009 to 2016).

One of Thompson’s first assignments as a Packers explorer in 1992 was to look at a movie on Favre and give a rating to then-GM Ron Wolff, who was considering trading in the midfielder’s favor.

„[Wolf] She left me in a dark room, and I saw some of them, and he came back inside and said, ‘Well, what do you think? „Thompson told ESPN in 2016.” And I said, „What do you think?” And then he said, „I love him. I think I’m going to trade in first place for him.” I said, „I think you should do that.”

„He didn’t need any help, but I’ve said this before: Brett, that limited time he played in Atlanta, it wasn’t all pretty. But he was beautiful when he got to the Green Bay Packers.”

Thompson worked with the Packers as scouts until 1999, when he joined Mike Holmgren with the Seattle Seahawks. In 2005 Bob Harlan, the president of Packers, lured him back into Green Bay by making him a general manager for the first time.

„I watched him come and join us when he was very environmentally friendly, and he worked for Ron Wolff, he’s a demanding president, and he’s been so good that Ron promoted him twice,” said Harlan at the Thompson Hall of Fame „The first man Mike Holmgren wanted to take with him to Seattle was Ted Thompson. Ted went to Seattle, formed the Super Bowl, and I just thought that when it came time to get someone, he was the one I wanted.”

The soft-spoken Thompson would often shy away from the limelight but sometimes let his sarcastic sense of humor shine through. He was self-critical about his football career, which was largely made up of private teams, and was widely respected by his players.

„He’s not a guy who speaks a lot of words, but he always has a positive attitude,” former Packers keeper TJ Lang told ESPN in 2017. „He was always smiling on his face. You can definitely tell anytime the guy was at the top. Your captain, he feels that way about your team. He definitely rubs the guys.”

One of Thompson’s picks still on the list is Rodgers, the kicker Mason CrosbyAttacking tackle David Bakhtiari, middle Corey LynleyBroad future Davant Adams, Running back Aaron Jones And address defensive Kenny Clark.