As Ron Wolf donned the Packers 23^rd   gold jacket, I sat back and wondering why the Packers have gotten so fortunate in the last 20 years.  While as quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers rightly frontline the Packers resurgence and continued excellence, a lot more credit probably has to be given to the men who laid the foundation for their success, namely Wolf and his protégé Ted Thompson. 

With Wolf rightly being added to football’s greatest, I wonder if Thompson will be able to mimic Rodgers and follow his predecessor into the hall of fame.  Obviously Rodgers and Favre are essentially first ballot hall of famers, but getting in as a Hall of Fame contributor is a lot more opaque.  Wolf is only the 3^rd GM to be inducted alongside Bill Polian, who was also inducted this weekend. 

From a straight numbers perspective Thompson and Wolf match up quite favorably; both are well known for their scouting acumen with multiple stars on their record books; most notably, each managed to strike pay dirt with a superstar quarterback who was the best in the league at their peaks.    Both worked their way up from the bottom as scouts and saw success with other teams before making it to general manager.   Both also compiled similar winning records during their tenure with Wolf winning 65% of games under his watch while Thompson has done slightly better at 67%.  Of course, the biggest point of all is both are Super Bowl winners, with one a piece (Here’s hoping Thompson can make it two).  If winning was the only issue, then Thompson should probably make the Hall of Fame alongside Wolf. 

While Thompson is quite humble publically, his results are not.  While Reggie McKenzie, John Schneider and John Dorsey are all Ron Wolf disciples it was actually under Thompson’s watch that all 3 became GMs.  Thompson is also likely mentoring possible future GMs in Alonzo Highsmith, Brian Gutekunst and notably Elliot Wolf.   Everyone talks about Rodgers having to replace a legend but really Thompson had to do the same as the true successor to Wolf.  Rodgers replacing Favre was the embodiment of Thompson replacing Wolf and not even Rodgers faced as much criticism as Thompson did in 2008.  

However, Hall of Fame contributors aren’t judged simply by their statistics.  Perhaps what makes Wolf so special is the story rather than the results.   Wolf took a team who had only seen 4 winning seasons and one caveat post-season appearance in the 20 years previous to a perennial contender even after his tenure.  There was talk that the Packers could no longer be profitable in the small town of Green Bay and would move permanently to Milwaukee.  There was the argument that Lambeau field was too small, too old.  African American players were hesitant to sign with Green Bay due to the racism that plagued the team. 

Personally, I don’t think Thompson will get into the Hall of Fame.  His story is simply too boring, which is maybe how he likes it.  There’s no suspense, no rags to riches plot.  Thompson was given a good situation and kept it going.   With all that said, Thompson is not just riding the wave started by Wolf; the Packers were starting to fall back into the pit under Mike Sherman and it was Ted Thompson who made sure the Packers remained great.