Nov. 17, 2009

Mr. Mark Murphy
President / CEO
Green Bay Packers
1265 Lombardi Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54304

Dear Mr. Murphy,

We don't know each other, but if you check with your predecessor, Bob Harlan, I'm sure he'll tell you that the Green Bay Packers and I have some history together. And while I may have been critical in the past, I'm sure he'll say that I have always wanted what's best for this football team.

I suspect that you are in your office today, smiling over the surprising victory Sunday over Dallas, one of the most hated of all Packers rivals.

You deserve to smile. The win was a good one, but it doesn't change the body of evidence that has been piling up for weeks that something drastic needs to happen to this football operation.

It is with my affection for and history with this team that I write today to urge you to prepare to put your mark on this team by making the most difficult of decisions. For weeks leading up to the Dallas game the drumbeat to fire Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy became a wall of sound that almost drowned out all discussion. Simply put, almost everybody thought they had to go because of the faulted football team they had put together.

I am certain that, in your own world, you began to steel yourself for the task of changing the leaders of your football team. Now that the Packers have beaten Dallas, does that mean that you should stop your consideration of that task?

I would say no.

I know I'm going to be in a distinct minority today, as Packers fans are notoriously fickle. But this is not the time for fickle. This is a time in Packers history that deserves thought and decisive action.

There's an old saying in the world of professional sports that goes something like: "If change is inevitable, make it now so that you minimize the long-term damage." The worst thing for the players on this team now would be to suffer through seven more weeks of wonder and insecurity. There is a downside to waiting until the end of the season. You have an alternative by making Dom Capers the interim coach, and beginning your search now for a great general manager.

You need to think about that advice. It's for moments like these that they made you the president of this team. It's easy to be the president during the good times. You walk around and greet fans and go to parties and do interviews. You make sure the pennies keep piling up.

But now you've got a lousy football team, one that seems to be going backward instead of getting better. You've had the same general manager for five years and the same coach for four years. Whatever it is they are doing, it has not resulted in better players or a better team. When you hear the chorus of boos from your own fans, you know it's time to move into action.

Sunday's victory doesn't change the avalanche of facts which prove this team is nothing special. The worst thing you can have is a team that isn't dependable. How can you lose to Tampa one week and beat Dallas the next? How can you have a team where the other team's punter knocks the ball out of the arms of your return guy? This was the same defense today that gave up yards and points by the bushel last week against one of the worst teams in the league.

You need a new regime. And we need to hear that you understand that. It means you have to put your stamp on this team.

Harlan was the best president the Packers have ever had. And his greatest strength came by keeping the Board of Directors and Executive Committee in line. These civilians have at various times meddled in all the football decisions that get made. Some of them consider themselves experts. Harlan kept them happy and at bay.

That's your big job right now.

You need to show the world that somebody's in charge besides Thompson and McCarthy, who have failed spectacularly. You had a chance to step in and solve the Brett Favre mess before it became the soap opera it was, but you were still wet behind the ears and didn't do anything. Harlan would have stopped the circus before it got crazy.

Well, here's your chance.

I'm going to admit that I made a mistake in judgment, thinking that a great exhibition season was an indication that this was going to be a playoff contender. I drank the Kool Aid like so many other people did. I was wrong.

Thompson and McCarthy have been wrong too. In the players they drafted, the players they didn't develop, the plays called and the ability to motivate beyond capability.

Here's where you step up to the plate and take your best cut. Let us hear what it is that you think. You are the president of the Green Bay Packers.

I hope you act like it.

Best always,

Dave Begel
OnMilwaukee.com