Packers move Ted Thompson out of GM role
GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) – It’s official – Ted Thompson is transitioning from General Manager to Advisor of Football Operations.
The Packers’ locker room clean-out had a different feel to it this year. Not because the team had their first losing season in a decade, but because of the changes that have already been made.
Typically as the Packers leave Green Bay for the year, the focus is on the players in the locker room. But after major changes to the Packers organization, the focus shifts. General Manager Ted Thompson has been assigned to a new job as a senior advisor, tough news to take for players like Justin McCray who spent last New Year’s Eve working as a bellman.
“He gave me a shot when nobody else would. I didn’t hear a call for two years. Ted and the guys upstairs gave me a shot to play and I can’t thank them enough for it. I was just a kid who wanted to play football and he gave me the chance to do that,” McCray said.
“It’s crazy because I think back to when I was drafted and he is the guy that pulled the trigger on that. He is the guy that believed in me. It's definitely a tough thing and I will thank him until the day I die for giving me this opportunity,” said Packers linebacker Blake Martinez.
Dom Capers is out after nine years running the defense. He’s been blasted on social media, but his biggest supporters are still in the locker room.
“I’m definitely going to miss him. He was a guy I came in with. A guy I put all my trust into and the guy I looked up to,” said Packers Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
“For basically my eight years here I've been with the same coaching staff, the same group, it's tough to see you guys leave. I mean Dom was a great coach to me,” said now free-agent Morgan Burnett.
Blake Martinez says it was a depressing feeling cleaning out the locker room this early, but that missing the playoffs will only add to the Packers’ motivation going into 2018.
Thompson took over as General Manager in 2005. Under his leadership, the Packers made nine playoff appearances and won a Super Bowl in 2010.
Team President/CEO Mark Murphy spoke to the media Monday. You can watch that press conference on Packers.com by clicking here.