Success Has a New Successor
Murphy to succeed Harlan as Packers’ President, CEO
By Chris Havel
It was a bittersweet beginning to the rest of the Green Bay Packers’ future.
On one side sat Mark Murphy, the Packers’ new president and CEO-elect, a man with a laudable resume behind him and a daunting challenge ahead.
On the other side sat Bob Harlan, the team’s outgoing president, a man whose grace, intellect and acumen put him in a class by himself.
Murphy certainly will succeed Harlan, but he can’t replace him and anyone that expects him to will be disappointed. Harlan is one-of-a-kind in today’s NFL that rages with men whose egos are transcended only by their salaries.
Harlan answered his phone as dutifully as a security guard at the front gate. He was the faithful caretaker of the NFL’s greatest and most unique franchise. He kept his own temptations to meddle in the football side at bay while constantly trying to do what was best for the organization, including getting out of the way at times.
Murphy’s election is both a coronation and a celebration. The Packers have a new president to welcome, and a past president to bid a fond farewell.
Murphy will be judged by his performance moving forward. It is irresponsible to pre-ordain him “a tremendous candidate” or “a terrific choice” because it is impossible to know. His track record may speak for itself, but his success will be determined by his actions, rather than any words.
The greatest obstacle he faces merely happened to be the greatest strength Harlan possessed. Harlan didn’t primp and preen and parade himself as a football man. Oh, he may not know the game as well as Ron Wolf or Ted Thompson, but he knew it well enough to hire such men and do everything in his power to help them succeed.
Now that is Murphy’s task.
The former All-Pro with the Washington Redskins has been there and done that. He knows the difference between a nickel back and a quarterback, and he knows how a Super Bowl-caliber team prepares to become the best. Those are excellent qualities and intangibles that set him apart from most NFL owners, presidents and CEOs.
That knowledge, if wielded correctly, will serve Murphy and the Packers well.
One of his first decisions—to support a contract extension for current GM Ted Thompson—may go down in history among his finest.
The concern that Murphy will be a puppet working at the pleasure of the Packers’ executive committee is understandable but unfair. I can’t imagine a man who went from undrafted free agent to All-Pro—and a man who coordinated athletics at Northwestern where the student takes precedent over the athlete – could be swayed.
At first blush, Murphy appears to be his own man, and he also appears to understand that he isn’t the GM or the coach—although he might be a great addition at safety—and that his prime directive is that of a facilitator.
Murphy will create his own destiny, and he deserves to be treated with the same respect that was accorded his predecessor.
Meantime, Harlan will be missed.
That isn’t an indictment of Murphy, but merely a stating of the truth. Murphy certainly will succeed Harlan, but he can never replace him. And it would be wise for him, and the team’s fans, to not even try.
Chris Havel is a freelance writer, best-selling author and host of northeast Wisconsin’s top-rated sports radio talk show, Sports Line, heard Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sports Radio 107.5 FM and 1400 AM THE FAN. He writes a weekly column exclusively for Packers Fan Tours’ Website throughout the 2007 season.
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