It began January 1st of 2008 and ended on Friday (July 25th) as Mark Murphy retired as President and CEO of The Green Bay Packers.
He officially handed over the reins to Ed Policy following the team’s annual shareholders meeting.
“I was new to the organization and Bob kind of took me under his wings and we worked together for a few months, while Ed and I have worked together for 12 years,” he explained. “It’s been a smooth transition, and I know he’ll do very, very well.”
Murphy refers to Bob Harlan who he succeeded, following stints as athletic director at Colgate and Northwestern Universities.
He is the only one to ever win a Super Bowl as a player, with the Washington Redskins in 1982 and as an executive in 2011 (Super Bowl 45).
Speaking with WOMT Sports Talk recently at The Green Bay Country Club during the annual Packer Hall of Fame Alumni Golf Classic, Murphy says the creation of the Titletown District, winning a Super Bowl and creating multiple life-long stable relationships as some of the accomplishments he’s most proud of, but none may surpass bringing the NFL Draft to Title town in April of 2025.
“We started lobbying the league 10 years ago when they (The NFL) decided to take the draft on the road,” he said on WOMT’s Sports Talk. “We raised our hand, saying that we think Green Bay would be a very special place to hold the draft. I think they were concerned about the size of the market and whether there would be enough hotel rooms to accommodate the crowds. I was blown away. Our fans were phenomenal, and it was just a great, great event.”
Over 600 thousand people attended the three-day extravaganza, more than six times the population of Green Bay itself.
Murphy reflects on being able to bring long and short-term financial stability to the smallest market in the league.
“We are by far the league’s smallest market but are ninth out of 32 teams in terms of total revenue,” he explained. “Ticket revenue at Lambeau is second among 32 teams in terms of stadium capacity. One of the most important things for us is to make sure that Lambeau Field continues to be a desired destination on people’s bucket list. Many great players have played here, but so many more have watched games at this iconic venue.”
The Packers’ regular season record was 156-93 and 2 during Murphy’s tenure, making the playoffs 12 times.
They reached the NFC Championship game five times and won it all in 2011.
He hired only one head coach (Matt LaFleur) and General Manager (Brian Gutenkunst) and had the luxury of having two franchise-caliber quarterbacks leading the charge in future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and drafting his heir apparent in 2020, current starter Jordan Love.
“I think Jordan (Love) is really coming along,” he said with optimism. “He was challenged last year by a couple of nagging injuries (groin and knee). The second half of 2023, his first as a starter, he played as well as anybody in the league. I’m very, very pleased with how he plays. He handles himself well and I feel he’s going to have a very long and successful career.”
Packer rules mandate that team executives must retire at age 70, and that day came July 13th.
He announced in July of 2022 that he would retire then, saying that it’s “bittersweet.”, but adds he’s looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
“I’m on a couple of different boards,” he noted. “I hope to be more involved with UW-Green Bay as I’m currently on their Council of Trustees. I also would like to help Athletic Director Josh Moon help navigate through the ever-changing landscape of college athletics, along with a few other things there.”
Along with, as he puts it, “working on my golf game” and spending more time with family.
Murphy will be inducted into the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame on August 28th.
