Ted Thompson (1953-2021) Find a Grave

Ted Thompson
Birth 17 Jan 1953
Atlanta, Cass County, Texas, USA
Death 20 Jan 2021 (aged 68)
Atlanta, Cass County, Texas, USA
Burial Details Unknown
Football Player

He was an undrafted free agent in 1975 but was signed by the Houston Oilers. He won a spot as a backup linebacker and special teams player and held this position for 10 years. He started nine games during his career, but he played in 146 of 147 games.

In a 1980 game against the New York Jets, he successfully converted four extra-point attempts as the emergency kicker. After a 10-year playing career in the National Football League (NFL) exclusively with the Houston Oilers, he served as an NFL executive for nearly 30 years. He was named the Packers’ assistant director of pro personnel in 1992, the same year Hall of Fame general manager Ron Wolf hired coach Mike Holmgren and traded for quarterback Brett Favre.

Thompson was quickly promoted to director of pro personnel. During his time in that role, the Packers appeared in consecutive Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI after defeating the Patriots 35-21. He spent an additional three years as the team’s director of player personnel before reuniting with Holmgren in Seattle in 2000.

After five seasons as the Seahawks’ vice president of football operations, he returned to Green Bay in 2005 as general manager. His first draft pick as the Packers’ general manager was Aaron Rodgers, who five years later would deliver an MVP performance in Green Bay’s 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.

During Thompson’s time as general manager, the Packers went 125-81-1. They won six division titles and appeared in four conference championship games. The 2011 team joined the 1984 49ers, 1985 Bears, 1998 Vikings, 2004 Steelers, 2007 Patriots and 2015 Panthers as the only teams in NFL history to win at least 15 games during the regular season.

He served as the Packers’ general manager from 2005 to 2017 before being named the team’s senior adviser to football operations in 2018. Thompson continued to hold that position through the 2020 season. He was inducted into the Packers’ Hall of Fame in 2019.