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Keep calm and trust Ted.
Since 2005, that has been the unofficial mantra for many Green Bay Packers fans when it comes to player acquisition, and it appears that we will be repeating that sentence for years to come.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Packers announced that they have re-signed General Manager Ted Thompson to a new contract, extending his tenure in Green Bay for several more years. The exact term was not announced, but the deal should keep the top personnel man in his current position for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the Packers have had only two losing seasons in their nine years under Thompson's watch, a 4-12 campaign in his first year in 2005 and a 6-10 year in 2008, and have added a Lombardi Trophy from their victory in Super Bowl XLV. Now that Thompson has signed on, look for head coach Mike McCarthy to likely get a contract extension of his own in the not-too-distant future, as Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy indicated that Thompson would be getting a new deal before the coach.
(UPDATE: McCarthy did indeed get his extension, which was announced on November 3, 2014.)
This puts an end to some speculation that arose earlier this year, when Thompson skipped some of his typical offseason activities amid some health-related issues. At the time, many guessed that Thompson would not stay past his previous deal (which expired after the 2015 season) and that Seahawks' GM John Schneider would be a possible replacement.
For now, Ted is going nowhere, and that's a good thing for a personnel department that has lost many representatives to GM jobs with other teams, including Schneider, the Raiders' Reggie McKenzie, and the Chiefs' John Dorsey.
Thompson met with the media Wednesday afternoon as well, to discuss his deal. Here are a few quotes from Thompson:
Thompson: "Mark Murphy and I have had ongoing conversations, general-type conversations. Felt very appreciated by organization." #Packers
— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) July 30, 2014
Ted Thompson on signing long-term extension with #Packers: "How nuts are you to walk away from something like this?"
— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) July 30, 2014
Thompson: It's easy to say I'm going to ride off into the sunset, but I have people that I'm responsible for here. People I've hired.
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 30, 2014
Thompson: I feel great. I'm honored that Mark Murphy & the organization would like me to stay on. This place means a lot to me.
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) July 30, 2014
Finally, Ted wouldn't get into details on how long the contract runs or how much money he's getting:
"I'm not a very specific guy" when Thompson is asked about specifics of contract.
— Packer Report (@PackerReport) July 30, 2014