Depending on how the Green Bay Packers front office moves shake out, the Kansas City Chiefs might lose some front office personnel of their own.
Ted Thompson first became the Green Bay Packers general manager back in 2005, when Brian Waters was still a Pro Bowl guard with the Kansas City Chiefs. The news that Thompson will not return not only eliminates one of the longest tenured executives in the NFL, but it might also mean a shake-up of those who might seek to help Green Bay turn the page into a new era.
The Packers tree of influence can be felt all around the NFL. John Dorsey, now general manager of the Cleveland Browns and formerly of the Chiefs, is only one of several current general managers with deep roots in Green Bay. The same can be said of Reggie McKenzie of the Oakland Raiders and John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks.
Because of their reach into other front offices, it should be noted that several teams are likely “on watch,” so to speak as the Packers reorganize their front office. Instead of outright replacing Thompson, it turns out the Packers are reportedly moving a lot of pieces around.
Ted Thompson will not return as the GM of the Green Bay Packers but will remain with the team. The front office will go through a reorganization with team president Mark Murphy defining new roles for current members of front office, per league and team sources.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 1, 2018
It will be interesting to see how this affects former Packers executives around the NFL and whether or not they will be called home. The Chiefs current Director of Pro Personnel, Tim Terry, is one such figure, coming over to the Chiefs last spring after spending 9 years studying under Thompson. Another name is Dan Zegers, currently the Chiefs College Scouting Coordinator, who also worked in Green Bay for nearly a decade before joining K.C. when Dorsey first took over the reins as general manager in 2013.
Every offseason brings a series of front office moves for each team to one degree or another, but continuity in these areas will help a team over the long haul. Further losses after an already crazy offseason from last year might be frustrating for the team’s leadership if they are forced to find new faces for positions they already believed to be filled.