Former Packers G.M. Ron Wolf retired at 62. And so, as current Packers G.M. Ted Thompson closes in on his 60th birthday in January 2013, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he plans to stay on the job.
“I suppose it’s possible, anything’s possible,” recently told Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette regarding retirement. “That thought hasn’t come over me, other than on the bad days.”
That actually sounds a lot like the kind of answer that a quarterback who spent years being something far less than unequivocal about his plans would say. However, as Thompson talked about it some more, he sounded more like a guy who won’t be making his status a year-to-year cause for consternation.
“There are days that you really appreciate this job and the fact you get to work with so many good people,” Thompson said. “There are other days when you’re having trouble, and stubbing your toe, and you feel like ‘holy smokes, what are we doing?’ and you want to just ride off into the sunset. I’ve had no thoughts along the lines of leaving.”
But Thompson also mused about the possibility of trading in the G.M. title and returning to being a scout.
“I think that would be great,” Thompson said. “You set your schedule for the fall, you know where the hotels are, you know the people at the schools that you visit, you write your reports. You’re kind of an independent contractor. I’ve always thought that would be a good gig.”
So who knows what Thompson plans to do? And that uncertainty is fitting in a weird sort of way, given that finally forcing the hand of Brett Favre after years of will-he-or-won’t-he allowed Thompson’s team to springboard to even greater heights with Favre’s successor.