Rastall Ramblings: Murphy Maintained Stability, and Success

When you think of all the success the Green Bay Packers have enjoyed over the last three-plus decades, one word immediately jumps to mind: stability.

Most famously, the Packers have enjoyed a level of continuity at quarterback that is the envy of essentially the entire league, going from 16 years of Brett Favre starting to 15 years of Aaron Rodgers starting to Jordan Love, who is entering the third season of what figures to be a lengthy reign starting under center.

However, stability has come to define the Packers all over the organization. Ron Wolf helped usher in the new golden age of Packers football during his nine-year run as general manager from 1992 to 2000. A four-year stint for Mike Sherman gave way to Ted Thompson’s 13-year run as GM, followed by Brian Gutekunst, who has been in that role since 2018.

Since 1992, the Packers have only had five full-time head coaches. Aside from a failed one-year run for Ray Rhodes, each of the other four head coaches got at least six seasons at the helm.

At the top of the organization, Bob Harlan became Packers president in 1989 and stayed in that role until, after things fell through with planned successor John Jones, Mark Murphy took over in January 2008.

As Murphy now rides off into the sunset upon turning 70 (the organization’s mandatory retirement age) this Sunday and hands the baton to successor Ed Policy, it’s obvious that his 17 years as president were also defined by maintaining stability in sometimes uneven waters.

In Murphy’s first offseason at the helm, he had to navigate the Brett Favre retirement/unretirement saga that caused fractured feelings within the fanbase. Ultimately, Murphy backed Thompson in moving on from Favre in favor of Rodgers, which obviously more than paid off. Favre also credited Murphy with being essential in smoothing over the hard feelings after their divorce and opening the door to Favre being welcomed back to have his number retired.

Of course, Murphy once again saw drama unfold with a Hall of Fame QB when Rodgers publicly aired his grievances with Gutekunst and the front office during the summer of 2021. Murphy caught flak from some (including myself, frankly) for referring to Rodgers as a “complicated fella” during that offseason. However, time has not only vindicated that assessment, but made it look like the understatement of the century.

The Packers’ emphasis on stability is not without its faults. The greatest failure of Murphy’s tenure would have to be letting Mike McCarthy stay as head coach and Ted Thompson as GM long past their expiration dates, while the brilliance of Rodgers papered over the cracks of flawed rosters and mediocre coaching.

That said, the two successors, Matt LaFleur and Gutekunst, have obviously done quite well and the Packers find themselves set up to be regular playoff contenders for the foreseeable future.

The failure to get a second Super Bowl with Rodgers is certainly a point of criticism toward Murphy and it’s not meritless, but the Brady/Belichick Patriots and Mahomes/Reid Chiefs warp expectations of how difficult it is to win multiple Super Bowls. You can count on one had the number of NFL fanbases who wouldn’t immediately want to swap places with what the Packers did during Murphy’s tenure.

And much like Harlan left the franchise in a good spot for the Packers to win a Super Bowl early in Murphy’s tenure, it would be no surprise if something similar plays out early in Ed Policy’s tenure.

As fans, the on-field product is obviously what really matters, but some of Murphy’s greatest accomplishments came on the business side of things. He oversaw two successful stock sales that helped fund Lambeau Field renovations and spearheaded the Titletown District that ultimately landed Green Bay the chance to host the NFL Draft this spring.

In a smashing success of a weekend, Murphy got a storybook ending when he announced (with a showman’s verve) the Packers selecting a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002. There was no better curtain call than that for a man who helped keep the Packers stable and successful for nearly 20 years.