Winning a world title doesn’t mean that Packers G.M. Ted Thompson will suddenly start giving away much information at press conferences. He has seemingly loosened up a little, though.
“You still pinch yourself from time to time. It’s still cool,” Thompson said in a chat with reporters Friday. “Sometimes we’ll be in our draft meetings . . . and we’ll say, ‘What do we think about that guy?’ It used to be a tense moment, but [college scout] Sam Seale will say, ‘Well, we are the world champions!”’ Thompson said to laughter before switching back to G.M. mode.
“We only do that amongst ourselves. We don’t do that in public,” Thompson said before noting that the NFL is all about “what’s next.”
What’s next for Thompson and his staff is evaluating college prospects here in Indianapolis through Tuesday, with the on-field workouts starting Saturday.
Before he leaves town, Thompson will probably get an attaboy from every team in the league for winning the title. It’s a tradition Thompson knows well.
“Everyone has been very gracious. They’ve said congratulations. I used to do the same thing. I didn’t mean it,” Thompson joked. “I was just being nice . . . everyone is very competitive in this league and I’m sure we have 31 teams that want a piece of us.”