DALLAS Theres the general manager who sticks to his convictions, the head coach who turns quarterbacks into stars, the quarterback with the rocket arm and the defensive star who makes game-changing plays.

They are the foundation of the Green Bay Packers then and now.

In the 1990s, it was Ron Wolf, the cutthroat general manager; Mike Holmgren, the coach who brought the quarterback-friendly West coast offense to the Midwest; Brett Favre, the gunslinger quarterback; and Reggie White, the free-agent savior of the defense. That combination won a Super Bowl, lost a Super Bowl and resurrected a franchise before one major decision by a key member of the foursome derailed what could have been a dynasty.

Those were our cornerstones, said Bob Harlan, the Packers president from 1989 to 2008. That was huge for us through the 90s with those four as the foundation.

Now, with the Packers back in the Super Bowl today against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium, its another quartet of power players leading the franchise. Its Ted Thompson, the general manager who studied under Wolf and steadfastly holds to his belief of building through the draft; Mike McCarthy, the coach known for his work with quarterbacks; Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback with MVP-like production; and Charles Woodson, the free-agent defensive star.

Its pretty darn close, Thompson said. Most of the things we do, the attitude we take, the way we draft is all exactly (the same). We were all trained by Ron Wolf.

In many ways, Harlans fingerprints can be found all over both eras. When he hired Ron Wolf in 1991, he knew the organization needed a major structural change. Less a month after Wolf took over, he fired coach Lindy Infante and hired Holmgren, who was the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator. A month later, Wolf traded a first-round draft pick to Atlanta for Favre. A year later, he lured White in what at the time was the biggest free-agent signing in the NFL.

When sweeping changes were needed more than a decade later, Harlan turned to Thompson, who had followed Holmgren to Seattle to run the personnel department with the Seahawks. Thompson, in turn, fired coach Mike Sherman as coach a year later and hired McCarthy, who was the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator. Two years later, Thompson and McCarthy made the decision to dump Favre and go with Rodgers, who Thompson picked in the first round of the 2005 draft.

I admire that organization, said former Dallas Cowboys personnel man Gil Brandt, who now works for NFL.com. They dont sit still.

A dynasty destroyed

When the Packers went to back-to-back Super Bowls following the 1996 and 1997 seasons, winning number XXXI over New England and losing number XXXII to Denver, the Packers seemed to be built for the long haul. Wolf still had a zest for the job, and Favre had another decade-plus of football in him. Though White was nearing the end of his career, there were a number of younger defensive stars on the rise.

Ron and I used to talk about what happened in the 90s and he and I agree, that team in the 90s was good enough to win two and maybe three (Super Bowls), Harlan said. We should have beaten Denver, and we should have gone back to another one, and we didnt.

Holmgrens desire for more power rocked the organization. After the 1998 season ended with a first-round playoff loss at San Francisco, Holmgren jumped at the chance to be both a coach and general manager and took $8 million a year to do so for the Seahawks.

We were very surprised when Holmgren made that move, Harlan said. I didnt see that coming, and I dont think Ron Wolf saw it coming. But to lose Holmgren was a big factor. That was a separation in the organization that we didnt need.

A dynasty in the making

Theres no way to know how success will change the key parties involved in this run to the Super Bowl, but Thompson is a youthful 58, and Harlan believes he will finish his career in his current job. Barring injury, Rodgers looks like a top-five quarterback for another six, eight or 10 years. While Woodson, the 2009 NFL defensive player of the year, will turn 35 in October, the Packers have another budding superstar on that side of the ball in second-year linebacker Clay Matthews, who was defensive player of the year runner up this season.

Then theres McCarthy. Hes 47 years old and married to a Green Bay girl. He and his wife, Jessica, are expecting their second child together on Aug. 4. He doesnt appear to seek the attention or the organizational power that Holmgren did.

I dont see him making the same move that Holmgren made, Harlan said. Thats a tough thing to do. That really is taxing. Just being a head coach is difficult enough. I just dont foresee that coming with Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy came up differently than Holmgren, who was perhaps the hottest coaching commodity when Wolf hired him. McCarthy, on the other hand, wasnt a household name and had interviewed for only one other head coaching job before Thompson hired him.

I told Ted, I really thought you could make a better choice than that, Brandt said. I wasnt really sold on McCarthy. Then I went to (training) camp up there for three days and about the second day I was there, I said, You know what, you made the right choice.

Both McCarthy and Thompson have two years remaining on their contacts. Team president Mark Murphy, who hired neither of them, said he preferred to wait until after the Super Bowl to discuss whether extension are possible. If the Packers are to keep their core together, such deals will be essential.

The two eras were built similarly, Harlan said. Its always great when the GM has picked his own coach. That was huge with Ron, and thats huge with Ted. When he hired Mike McCarthy, he said he never wanted to go through another coaching search again.

"ROB DEMOVSKY" wrote: