"Probably messier (or) as messy as the Lambeau departure, messier even than the Favre departure."

Perhaps that phrase seems impossible for the departure of the Green Bay Packers' legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, to be real.

However, Packers historian Cliff Christl recalls how acrimony ran rampant with the coach who brought Green Bay five NFL championships in the 1960's, but who ended that decade in Washington D.C. with the Packers' playoff opponent on Sunday.

"I think fans were unhappy that he was leaving. A lot of people would have liked to seen, if he wanted to get back into coaching, to just take over the reins of the Packers again," said Christl.

The process of Lombardi's departure organically started a year before his actual move to Washington, with his move off the coaching sidelines after nine years, the last three including a record-setting three straight titles in Green Bay.

"He announced his resignation in early February (1968) as head coach, shortly after winning Super Bowl II. That had been his goal throughout his coaching career, to win three consecutive NFL championships. He had succeeded, (then) decided to step aside and become general manager only," said Christl.

"Family friends have told me that by the start of training camp, he knew he had made a mistake. I don't know that he ever did very much at all as general manager that year. I don't think he wanted to interfere with (coach Phil) Bengston, so he kind of observed most things from a distance."

He observed a painful 1968 campaign, where the Packers went from a 9-4-1 Super Bowl champion the year before to 6-8 and out of the playoffs. It was the type of year that, many recall, made Lombardi regret his decision to leave coaching - for which an inner fire burned.

An outlet finally seemed available for that inner fire, on the east coast where Lombardi grew up. The New Yorker was being courted in Washington, D.C.

"The Packers played at Washington on November 24, 1968," said Christl.

"From what I've been told, there were discussions between the Redskins and Lombardi by that time. People had the impression he might be leaving. I think Edward Bennett Williams and Lombardi probably talked about the job at that point."

Those discussions finally spawned a move that shocked Packers Nation and gave Washington hope after 12 years without a winning season.

"Things weren't finalized until early February. That's when he announced he was leaving, shortly after the NFL Draft. It took about 4-5 days before things were resolved between the two clubs. The Redskins, at that point, were hungry for a winner," said Christl.

The legacy Lombardi left, in the end, cannot be overstated. However, Christl also remembers how Lombardi's last draft, and his lack of involvement in it, left the Packers' cupboard of talent bare for years.

"The NFL Draft that year had been held just prior to him leaving. (It was) one of the worst drafts in Packers history," explained Christl.

"Their first round pick was Rich Moore. He was a complete bust. (They) took a guy by the name of Dave Bradley, an offensive lineman, in the second round. He was a bust. (They) took a wide receiver in the third round, John Spills. He wasn't any good, either."

Lombardi, Christl says, didn't even sit in on the draft - a major point of contention on the Packers staff that he was leaving for Washington.

"He let Phil Bengston make his picks. Pat Peppler, who was the personnel director, was quite upset. Contrary to how they had operated under Lombardi, (where) the scouts and the personnel people would discuss these players, they weren't excited about drafting them, and Bengston went ahead and drafted them anyway. Lombardi wasn't even in the room to exercise his authority."

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Jay Sorgi wrote: