Murphy Elected CEO

[K-town]

Packers' board elects Murphy
By Don Walker
Monday, Dec 3 2007, 03:19 PM
The Green Bay Packers announced Monday afternoon that the team's board of directors had elected Mark H. Murphy as the franchise's 10th chief executive officer.

The vote was unanimous, the team announced in a press release. The organization announced that team chairman Bob Harlan would continue to lead the franchise through the 2007 football season. Prior to that, the transition will formally begin Jan. 1, 2008, with Murphy assuming the role of president and ceo-elect.

In a prepared statement, Harlan said the Packers were pleased to have landed Murphy, who is currently athletic director at Northwestern University.

"He has an excellent background and record of success in the business of athletics, and through his NFL playing career brings a great understanding of our game to his position," Harlan said. "He'll be an outstanding leader for our franchise and a great addition to our community. We're delighted to have Mark join us."

Peter Platten, chairman of the team's search committee and vice president of the team's executive committee said Murphy stood out early among the group or more than 60 candidates.

"I am honored to have been selected and very appreciative of this tremendous opportunity," Murphy said. "The Packers are one of the great franchises in all of professional sports, with a rich history and incredible fan support. These are successful times for the Packers. On the field they're performing well, and off the field, they're in great shape, too. I look forward to being a part of that continued success."

Added National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell: "Mark brings an important blend of experiences to the job, so many of which touch on issues that we will be dealing with in the future. Based on eight seasons with the Redskins, Mark has a deep respect for the history of the league, its players and coaches. He understands the impact of a franchise on its community and the importance of players and coaches meshing with their local fan bases."

Murphy, 52, an alumnus of Colgate, holds a master's degree in business administration from American University, and a law degree from Georgetown University. Murphy played eight seasons for the Washington Redskins.

[RashanGary]

Good, I was getting worried when those dip shits were talking about appointing their friends. Hopefully he follows up on Harlans policy of staying out of football decisions. That has worked great since Harlan took over.

[RashanGary]

A unanimous decision gives him instant respect and power too. It shows that everyone is behind him. There will be no "I think I'm bigger than the boss" attitudes after this vote. Other than firing JOnes the day before he got the job, this whole thing has gone down about as well as one could expect. They did a real search, hired a guy based on merit (not the buddy system) and used outside job sourcing to narrow candidates. It seems like a great hire.

[RashanGary]

I think he and Thompson will get along great too. They have a lot in common. Both are smart guys who played in the NFL during the same era. Both played defense. Both have similar backgrounds (Murphy having more education) but other than that, at initial glance it looks like a nice fit for what is already in place.

[swede]

Other than firing JOnes the day before he got the job, this whole thing has gone down about as well as one could expect.

It took a lot of balls for Harlan to decide to derail that train (Jones as prez) at the last minute. It's kind of like calling off a wedding now rather than divorcing in 6 months. One would think that such a situation would have caused a distracting uproar.

I think the team picked a good year to open the season 10-2. It helped to keep the focus on football rather than front office politics.

May the Green Bay Packers, the only publically held franchise in the National Football League, continue to thrive and prosper under her new president.

[RashanGary]

May the Green Bay Packers, the only publically held franchise in the National Football League, continue to thrive and prosper under her new president.

I can drink to that with as much confidence as as possible with the perspective we view this thing from.

Outside looking in, it looks good.

[BF4MVP]

Hmmm...Hopefully it works out, but I don't see anything about Northwestern's athletic department that impresses me..Crappy football program and crappy basketball program for as long as I can remember..

[The Leaper]

The guy won't be in charge of putting a winning team on the field. He doesn't draft talent. He doesn't coach talent. He isn't the talent.

He'll be in charge of putting money in the coffers and making the fan experience first class. I admit, Northwestern isn't exactly the top college I'd be looking at for an NFL front office gig...but the guy has decent enough credentials.

He needs to get those teeth fixed though. What an awful picture.

[mmmdk]

He needs to get those teeth fixed though. What an awful picture.

I could do that...

[vince]

Poor guy. I'm sure he's a great hire though... :P

[Patler]

Hmmm...Hopefully it works out, but I don't see anything about Northwestern's athletic department that impresses me..Crappy football program and crappy basketball program for as long as I can remember..

There is more to a University Athletic Department than just football and basketball. Read the following, which I had posted earlier, before you judge the job Murphy has done at Northwestern:

Mark H. Murphy was named the 20th director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation at Northwestern University in June 2003, and has been at the helm for four of the finest athletic years in school history.

In the past four years, Murphy has overseen a 19-sport program that has won nine conference team championships and 34 individual Big Ten titles, including 13 in 2006-07 alone. Northwestern has garnered 13 conference Coach of the Year accolades, 19 Player of the Year and 11 Freshman of the Year honors. A total of 49 student-athletes have earned first-team All-America distinction, with 32 of those honors coming in the last two years (16 in both 2005-06 and 06-07). There have been eight individual national championships (four coming in 2006-07) and three NCAA team titles, 216 all-conference honorees and 505 Academic All-Big Ten certificates in Murphy's tenure, along with 10 CoSIDA Academic All-America awards and 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees.

NU had its best sports season in program history in 2005-06. Eleven sports earned postseason berths, and women's lacrosse and men's swimming's Matt Grevers successfully defended their NCAA championships from the year before. Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis of women's tennis won the 2006 NCAA doubles championship to add to Northwestern's exploding total of titles. Softball nearly made it two team titles in 2006, advancing all the way to the final pairing of the Women's College World Series.

In 2006-07, the Wildcats continued to improve as a department, sending 10 sports to the NCAA postseason and earning an astounding four individual national titles (three for men's swimming) and one NCAA team title courtesy of women's lacrosse.

As a department, Northwestern finished 30th in the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup standings with a school-best 626.5 points. NU has been in the top-30 in the standings for the past three seasons. Northwestern finished sixth among Big Ten schools for the third-straight year after not placing higher than ninth in any previous season.

Following the 2006-07 season, Murphy was named the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) AstroTurf Football Bowl Subdivision Central Region AD of the Year.

"I am very excited about the future of our program," says Murphy. "We offer student-athletes a truly unique combination-a chance to receive a first-class education at one of the top universities in the country while playing athletics at the highest level. I think we can serve as a role model for schools nationally by showing that you can combine excellence in athletics with excellence in academics."

A former professional football player who holds both a law degree and an MBA, Murphy brought a record of similar success both on and off the field from his 11 years as athletic director at Colgate, a member of the NCAA Division I Patriot League. During his tenure, Colgate's football program went from 0-11 in 1995 to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA I-AA playoffs, and the men's basketball team twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Colgate women's soccer team captured eight Patriot League championships and made three NCAA tournament appearances, while the women's volleyball team went to the NCAA tournament twice. In addition, the softball and men's ice hockey teams also made appearances in the NCAA tournament.

During that same time, Colgate, like Northwestern, had some of the highest graduation rates for student-athletes in Division I athletics. Northwestern's graduation rates for student-athletes are perennially among the best in Division I-A while Colgate also has been in the top 10.

"Mark understands our goals and values at Northwestern: to maintain the highest academic standards while competing at the highest level on the field and providing outstanding recreational opportunities for our students," says Northwestern President Henry S. Bienen when he first introduced Murphy. "We are confident that, under his direction, Northwestern's athletics will continue its recent track record of success and our club sports and recreational offerings will be enhanced even further for the entire Northwestern community."

[Carolina_Packer]

Good call on Alfred E. Newman OR it might be another famous redhead with challenging chicklits...



OK, so now you can get your Ted Thompson #51 Houston Oilers Jersey and your Mark Murphy #29 Washington Redskins Jersey.

[mraynrand]

Yeah Baby, Yeah!

How many times do you think Murphy's nose has been broken?

[Zool]

I remember back when he was a bald safety in the green and gold.

[pbmax]

Overall, seems solid. Assuming there is no hanky panky about the exec committee using its hand picked new CEO to keep T2 from signing Koren Robinson* or drafting Justin Harrell, then I'm OK with this.

Murphy has been successful, is obviously intelligent and knows both the playing and Collective Bargaining processes well.

Working at universities will give him a background in managing facilities.

The only hole would seem to be in NFL front office experience. But as long as he doesn't try to make himself the GM, I am fairly confident he can pick that side of the business up.

Given that Harlan wanted an NFL veteran who knew the CBA and revenue sharing fields, I wonder if that sheds light on the Jones fiasco. Maybe Jones knew both these areas but lacked other qualities. Seems that Murphy might be the boards way to correcting that.