He watched in stunned silence as his NFC championship qualifying team from a year ago crumbled. He was criticized heavily for trading quarterback Brett Favre. And he oversaw the firings of nearly half the coaching staff after the Packers disastrous 6-10 campaign.
Perhaps no other general manager in Packers history, with the possible exception of Dan Devine, has been the focal point of so much vitriol from the fan base.
Whats ironic is that most of the anger directed at Thompson stems from one of his few good moves during the past year. His decision to jettison the over-the-hill Favre in favor of ascending quarterback Aaron Rodgers was both courageous and wise, even if it instigated a civil war among fans.
Many will never forgive Thompson for trading the legendary Favre to the New York Jets, even if it was absolutely the correct move. Assuming the pro-Favre backers eventually end their temper tantrum, they will realize there are more compelling reasons to be ticked off at Thompson.
Nearly everything Thompson touched in 2008 turned to stone. Its imperative that Thompson shake out of his slump if the Packers want to return to prosperity.
Some critical mistakes contributed to the Packers franchise-record seven-game slide that turned one of the best teams in the league into one of the worst:
# Former Packers General Manager Mike Sherman wrote the book on bad defensive line decisions. Who can forget busts like Joe Johnson, Cletidus Hunt, Kenny Peterson, James Lee and Donnell Washington?
Well, Thompson added some chapters to Shermans sad story. For starters, Thompson bet the family farm on injury-prone 2007 first-round draft pick Justin Harrell and lost. His faith in Harrell led to the trade of Corey Williams last off-season. The acquisition of a second-round draft choice for the seemingly expendable and high-priced Williams appeared shrewd at the time, but when Harrell flopped, it left a gaping hole in the middle of the line. It didnt help that Thompson used that draft pick to select quarterback Brian Brohm, who was relegated to third-string inactive status all season.
Thompson then made a $6 million blunder when he kept Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila on the opening-day roster. It didnt take long to figure out the aging KGB had nothing left, and the Packers cut him at mid-season but were obligated to pay his full salary. Thats a lot of wasted cash, but worse, the line was left in shambles with no depth. Thompson failed to provide enough manpower at one of the most important positions, and the Packers paid the price with several late-game defensive collapses.
# What could Thompson have been thinking when he traded back six spots and out of the first round last April? This is no knock on Jordy Nelson, who was a serviceable No. 3 or No. 4 receiver and was selected with the 36th overall pick. But Thompson needed to bolster his defense, and end Phillip Merling and safety Kenny Phillips were still on the board when the Packers were holding their original No. 30 pick. Thompson has virtually ignored the defense in the last two drafts, devoting just five of 20 picks to that side of the ball with no starters in the bunch. His penchant for trading down and accumulating extra picks worked early in his tenure when Thompson was rebuilding the roster. But now the Packers need some immediate impact, which means picking as high in the draft as possible.
# Thompson did no favors to the Packers special teams, another factor in several of the teams narrow defeats. He should nail this banner to his Lambeau Field office wall: If it aint broke, dont fix it.
Jon Ryan wasnt a problem punter, yet the Packers inexplicably thought they could do better with Washington Redskins castoff Derrick Frost. The disastrous decision to cut Ryan resulted in three months of punting misery, left the Packers constantly playing catch-up in the field position battle and ultimately sent special teams coach Mike Stock into retirement.
Another gaffe was the decision to cut the best special teams player on the team, Tracy White, in early October. Stock admitted the day after the season ended that losing White hurt, and hinted he had nothing to do with the move. If Thompson truly believes special teams are important, then why get rid of a star performer? No wonder the Packers finished dead last in the NFL in kickoff returns, and the kickoff team failed in some crucial late-game situations.
# Any excuse for not having Ryan Grant signed by the start of training camp is a bad one. Grants agent publicly blasted the Packers last summer for their nonchalant approach to negotiations, and who could blame him? Right or wrong, the Packers concluded following the 2007 season that Grant was their go-to running back for the foreseeable future. So instead of dilly-dallying around, Thompson needed to get him signed. Instead, Grant arrived a week late, predictably suffered an injury, and then was slow out of the gate. Grant needed the full benefits of the off-season program, training camp and the exhibition season. Management is supposed to put players in the best position to succeed, but Thompson failed to deliver.
Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.