Reggie McKenzie Headed to the Bay

[Patler]

Dorsey also turned down interview with St. Louis and Chicago. ESPNChicago quoted him saying, "I have the best job with the best team, in the best city. This is my home."

He left GB and went to Seattle for two years with Holmgren, then resigned and came back in what some said was a lateral move at best. I remember at the time he said leaving Green Bay had been a big mistake. I am curious to see if he moves into McKenzie's spot, or if he is content to stay focused on leadership of the college scouting area.

[pbmax]

Dorsey also turned down interview with St. Louis and Chicago. ESPNChicago quoted him saying, "I have the best job with the best team, in the best city. This is my home."

Didn't know those two. Impressive enough to think he has got to be in line for a promotion.

[pbmax]

True, but many of the others in the scouting area (like McKenzie) came to the Packers with playing and/or coaching experience. Wolf has little experience of any kind other than with the Packers. College internships is about it. Broader experience should make him better and more valuable in the future. If he really is a budding GM of the future, the Packers could easily higher him back 15-20 years from now. Maybe as soon as 5-6 years from now if he really is that good.

Scouts and coaches benefit from broader experiences as they develop their own philosophies, in my opinion.

Good point. Even many of the scouts are former players like Alonzo Highsmith.

[Upnorth]

Elliot Wolf is going with him. I think were going to get pillaged pretty good this year.

Based on the qualtiy we see on the field I believe both will be large losses to the organisation. On the other hand I don't mind them going to the raiders this year for two reasons

1) AFC team
2) They dont have a draft till 2013 (pretty much).

I hope Clements doesn't go anywhere, but he deserves a shot at a HC gig because he is very good at it. I would bet money we are looking for a new OC shortly, sigh.

[Tarlam!]

Based on the qualtiy we see on the field I believe both will be large losses to the organisation. On the other hand I don't mind them going to the raiders this year for two reasons

1) AFC team
2) They dont have a draft till 2013 (pretty much).

I hope Clements doesn't go anywhere, but he deserves a shot at a HC gig because he is very good at it. I would bet money we are looking for a new OC shortly, sigh.

Agree with everything you wrote.

As an owner, I feel proud of the team we put together on and off of the field of battle. It is a great compliment to us, that our people are highly sought after!

[Smidgeon]

Wolf leaving doesn't bother me at all. He is so young with such limited exposure and experience that going to another organization will be good for his development. If he continues to show talent and ability, when the Packers have a need, if they have an interest, they could always try to get him back. If they do, there will be no question about their motivation. It is the only way he will get out from under the charge of nepotism, which would have remained without a break from GB.

I think the loss of McKenzie will be felt in GB.

I've been thinking about this too.

[RashanGary]

TT seems to be doing a fantastic job hiring excellent people. It seems like the more Thompson puts his print on this team, the better. I like our chances of getting a great couple scouting talents. They say Thompson is on the scouting circuit more than any other GM. I have a hunch he knows some bright scouts around the league waiting for a chance to work with our guy.

[Smidgeon]

Based on the qualtiy we see on the field I believe both will be large losses to the organisation. On the other hand I don't mind them going to the raiders this year for two reasons

1) AFC team
2) They dont have a draft till 2013 (pretty much).

I hope Clements doesn't go anywhere, but he deserves a shot at a HC gig because he is very good at it. I would bet money we are looking for a new OC shortly, sigh.

Clements or Philbin?

[Tarlam!]

TT seems to be doing a fantastic job hiring the right people. I don't know much about how influential this guy was, but I'm sure Ted has a star he's ready to promote and a line of scouts waiting for their chances with Green Bay.

Mckenzie has been on the payroll since '94. Not certain, but I think Wolf hired him, no?

[Lurker64]

Wolf leaving doesn't bother me at all. He is so young with such limited exposure and experience that going to another organization will be good for his development. If he continues to show talent and ability, when the Packers have a need, if they have an interest, they could always try to get him back. If they do, there will be no question about their motivation. It is the only way he will get out from under the charge of nepotism, which would have remained without a break from GB.

I think the loss of McKenzie will be felt in GB.

If the Packers had not been preparing to lose McKenzie for the last several years, I think you could constitute that as an act of negligence since he was obviously the most likely candidate to leave, as he was not going to advance any further in Green Bay (he was #2 to TT) and he was on the record as stating he would like to be a general manager. I'm pretty sure they'll be fine.

[smuggler]

I would not mind losing Philbin that much, but losing Clements would be a big blow.

[RashanGary]

I would not mind lose Philbin that much, but losing Clements would be a big blow.

You know, MM is a QB guru. Clements is a heck-of-a QB coach if you believe what the Packer say about him, but MM is even better. Young = Hungry. MM is a heck of a leader, a heck of a good judge of character and a heck of a QB coach. He's going to have his pick of the litter with both OC and QB coach. OC is going to be the more important one. Philbin was an OL guy. MM needs an OL guru.

I suspect we land one of the best OL coaches in football as our OC, and MM takes on a young, driven, creative, talented guy who's great at teaching and great at working as a team. He'll have some QB experience, maybe an ex-player or young college coach, but he's not going to be an experienced guy like Clements IMO. There aren't many of them out there who wouldn't be moving laterally here. Odds are, we're forced to go young there, but that's the spot (with AR being our guy and being ready) and MM being the HC where we can bring in a talented up and comer and maybe even get better with the new infused youthful hunger.

I like our group of guys, but from top down. . . . . TT, MM, Capers, AR. . . . . We have the long-term pieces in place (and the rapport to pick whoever we want) that gives us good odds of infusing talent and hunger. I wouldn't be shocked, just the way we're set up, if this isn't the shakeup we need to keep this team hungry enough to be the dynasty we have the potential of becoming.

Creative guys, strong guys, like MM and Holmgren can get bored. MM knows it's a major pit-fall. He's been told and has boughten in, that staying hungry after having success is the single hardest thing to do. Tutoring, teaching, growing together. . . . That doesn't get so old. I think that's the part that can keep guys loving the job. AR is close to a finished product. MM needs a new relationship where he can enjoy watching a young guy grow. IMO MM seems to love that. We could use some new, hungry coaches and new relationships to make it fun and new.

[Pugger]

Based on the qualtiy we see on the field I believe both will be large losses to the organisation. On the other hand I don't mind them going to the raiders this year for two reasons

1) AFC team
2) They dont have a draft till 2013 (pretty much).

I hope Clements doesn't go anywhere, but he deserves a shot at a HC gig because he is very good at it. I would bet money we are looking for a new OC shortly, sigh.

Maybe Clements would take that job if Philbin leaves?

[Patler]

If the Packers had not been preparing to lose McKenzie for the last several years, I think you could constitute that as an act of negligence since he was obviously the most likely candidate to leave, as he was not going to advance any further in Green Bay (he was #2 to TT) and he was on the record as stating he would like to be a general manager. I'm pretty sure they'll be fine.

Oh, I'm sure they planned for the possibility. Most businesses have succession planning. But the best laid plans don't always work (remember Harlan's planned-for successor, John Jones?) and while change is sometimes good in the long run, a period of adjustment and inefficiency often comes first.

What I really meant was that McKenzie has been there a long time, was apparently extremely well-liked and reportedly was exceptional at his job. Even if the successors are just as good, the loss of McKenzie will be felt as the necessary adjustments are made to take over all that he did. An article last fall discussed how many duties he had taken over for TT, mostly without giving up his own duties to someone else. That doesn't mean he is irreplaceable, but it might take some time to getting operating as smoothly.

I think his departure will have greater impact than when Schneider left a couple years ago.

[RashanGary]

An article last fall discussed how many duties he had taken over for TT, mostly without giving up his own duties to someone else. That doesn't mean he is irreplaceable, but it might take some time to getting operating as smoothly.

I think his departure will have greater impact than when Schneider left a couple years ago.

This does make sense. A counter-point I have is that TT seems like an open-minded guy. Some of his moves are absolute shockers. Russ Ball wasn't a shocker, but getting rid of our experienced cap guy was. Ball turned out to be gold for us, based on what they say about his leadership, work ethic and job performance. MM was a true shocker. He's been gold. The Favre thing was a shocker. Again, gold. Javon Walker, gold. Ryan Grant, gold. AR, gold. Everytime we've needed something that seemed irreplacable, TT has struck gold.

I wouldn't doubt if there's some young scout on the Packers pay-roll who's just a superstar or if there's a young star on some other team that Ted sees all the time on the road who Ted's just itching to give a big-time job to. It wouldn't shock me if the guy who takes over for McKenzie is young, less experienced than your typical #2, but completely over the top talented as a scout. I certainly don't doubt McKenzie's abilities, but boy, I have even more confidence in Thompson hiring a fuckin superstar to replace him and not just going with status quo, next guy up type thing.

Losing both guys is certainly tougher, especially since it was two years in a row and our two top guys. I could see it being a real challenge. A lot of the college scouting has been done already. TT will have an offseason to bring someone up to speed. It's going to be a challenge, bigger than losing just the one, but there's a culture and timing to what is happening in GB that's a train rolling down the tracks, full speed. It's a fine tuned machine, with leaders at every important spot.

And Mark Murphy is a heck of a leader too, who puts football first. If there are organizational things that need to be taken over, Murphy aspired to be a GM. I wouldn't doubt if he came down and helped with just the leadership part so Ted could stay on the road doing what he does. Presidents are there to keep the business thriving, but Murphy knows that football success is by far the #1 factor in making money. They are so dedicated to the football part of the business, I see a full out effort, an organized effort, by some of the most qualified, driven people in football to make this thing work. The Packers really are set up about as well as a business can be, IMO.