Packers' new era: How Ed Policy's journey prepared him for top job

New York Times

7 days ago

More than three decades before he negotiated contracts for Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur, Ed Policy was part of Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young's contract negotiation. Kind of.
Carmen Policy, Ed's father, was the Super Bowl-winning president and CEO of the San Francisco 49ers from 1991 to 1997. He negotiated with Young's super-agent, Leigh Steinberg, via old-fashioned car phone with Ed riding shotgun en route to training camp. Ed only heard one side of the conversation, but his interest was piqued.
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He peppered his father with questions after overhearing such talks. Why is each side approaching a negotiation in a certain way? Why is a player holding out? How are they allowed to hold out?
'Listening to him negotiate contracts, listening to him talk to head coaches about difficult things, talk to Bill Walsh or talk to GMs about difficult things, those were great experiences,' Policy said. 'We talked about the NFL and the business of the NFL and pro football every night at the dinner table.'
Policy, 54, will rely on those lessons as he assumes the role of Packers president and CEO on Friday. For an organization without a traditional owner, Policy will be the closest thing to it. Mark Murphy has led the team for the past 17 years, but per Packers bylaws, executive committee members must retire at 70, an age Murphy reached on July 13. Policy, who has served as Packers general counsel, vice president and chief operating officer since 2012, will now sit atop the food chain of one of the most iconic and unique organizations in sports.
'Ed is absolutely ready and will do a great job,' Murphy said. 'He's very sharp, knows the league inside and out … he's been invaluable to the organization during his tenure here.'
Other NFL team presidents have minimal influence on football decisions, but Policy's primary duty will be to oversee, evaluate and ultimately hold accountable the GM and head coach. He rose to the top of an NFL organization not by outbidding billionaires — or being born to one — but by proving his worth to the Packers, beginning with a chance meeting with Murphy in a New York City hotel lobby over 13 years ago, and culminating in his selection from nearly 100 other candidates to lead the franchise, guided by lessons he learned from his father.
'Winning Super Bowls and celebrating Super Bowls and drinking champagne were great memories,' Policy said. 'But the things I really rely on now, the lessons, are really watching him struggle through some of the tougher times.'
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Atop the list of difficult decisions Carmen made with the 49ers was the 1993 trade of quarterback Joe Montana, who won four Super Bowls and three Super Bowl MVPs in 14 years in San Francisco. Montana had missed the majority of the 1991 and 1992 seasons, and though he still had plenty left in the tank, it was finally Young's time to take over. The 49ers didn't have the manpower to sort through all the hate mail they received after moving on from Montana, so they stored it in a warehouse.
'I remember talking to him about it and (saying), 'Gosh, they're writing this stuff about you,' and he would say, 'Well, thank God they care … They don't like this decision right now. I hope in time, they come to really like it, but thank goodness they care,'' Policy recalled. 'If it was the right thing for the 49ers, he always did it.'
Sure enough, Young won Super Bowl MVP two seasons later.
Carmen wasn't a lifelong football man, but a lawyer from Youngstown, Ohio, one who counted 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo among his clients. DeBartolo wanted Carmen as his consigliere in San Francisco. Carmen, smooth, intelligent and charismatic, was a clean-up man for DeBartolo, a mercurial head of the organization who tended to turn nuclear. Carmen was organized and respected by then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue and worked with Walsh and others on personnel decisions.
Ed may not exhibit as much influence on Packers personnel matters, but he inherited his father's thick skin for when difficult decisions arise.
'He's so much better than I am in so many ways,' Carmen, 82, said. 'He's a little more deliberate and will condition himself to be able to anticipate what the problems are and how better to handle it in advance (rather) than allowing 'em to get too far out of line.'
As he watched his father stand firm while trading a franchise icon in Montana 32 years ago, Policy likely didn't imagine he'd one day make a similar call with the Packers after stops at Stanford Law School, the Arena Football League, the NFL office, and beyond. Regardless of what those outside — or even inside — 1265 Lombardi Ave. may think, Policy said he will always do whatever best helps the Packers win.
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Whether it was the Montana trade, the Packers firing Mike McCarthy in 2018 after almost 13 years as head coach, Green Bay drafting quarterback Jordan Love in the 2020 first round with four years left on Aaron Rodgers' contract or refusing to trade a disgruntled Rodgers in 2021 despite his agent's request, Policy has seen firsthand how to follow the principle that could determine whether the Lombardi Trophy returns to Green Bay for the first time in 15 years.
More than 10,000 Packers fans are expected to gather in the Lambeau Field bleachers Friday, well before the season's first public practice or game inside the stadium.
The Packers call this gathering their Annual Meeting of Shareholders. They're the only publicly owned team in North America's four major professional sports leagues. Their 'owners' are fans, players and others who have bought shares of the team for anywhere from $5 to $300 during one of six stock sales over the last 102 years (their stake doesn't offer return on investment or give them input in football decisions).
The meeting, held to invite shareholders to discussions about the team's financials, the prior season's performance and offseason moves, carries added significance this year. In what is hardly the traditional behind-closed-doors setting for ratifying an NFL ownership change, the Packers' equivalent will happen on a stage in front of thousands.
While Policy has acclimated to his new role since the Packers announced their succession plan last June, he has been preparing for his turn in charge for much longer. Whenever Murphy encountered a challenging or unique decision, Policy would role-play while driving home from Lambeau Field, putting himself in Murphy's shoes and imagining how he'd handle it. He said he's been doing that since he joined the organization in 2012.
Those reps paid off last year during Policy's final in-person interview, for which Murphy was present.
'There were a few moments where I began the answer and sometimes Mark would even kind of finish for me,' Policy said. 'The panel would kind of look at him … and at first I thought, 'Geez, Mark, this is my interview,' but then I realized it was such a great moment because it really showed how in tune I was with his thinking.
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'You'd have to ask the panel, I even think that went a long way in their selection because certainly, I think continuity has always been a hallmark of the Packers way.'
Policy speaks with his father via telephone twice weekly to solicit advice or feedback. 'I'm pleased to see that he's not bored with me,' said Carmen, 82.
This offseason, Policy asked Murphy's predecessor, Bob Harlan, if he had 20 minutes to chat. Policy and the 88-year-old Harlan, who worked for the Packers from 1971-2008 and served as CEO from 1989-2008, spoke for three hours at a high-top table on Lambeau Field's club level.
'I didn't know him at all,' Harlan said. 'I knew his dad very well because his dad was working with the 49ers when I was working with the Packers, so I started to see him at league meetings all the time, and he was a very capable administrator. I've got a son who is an agent and he used to deal a lot with Ed when Ed was in the (AFL), and so he's raved about him.
'He'll do an excellent job. Couldn't be a better choice because he's sound, he's intelligent, he'll be careful in his decision-making.'
Despite his newfound authority and a heightened urgency to reach the game's biggest stage again entering Gutekunst's eighth season, LaFleur's seventh and Love's third as starter, Policy wants little to no influence on personnel matters. He's keeping the structure that Murphy implemented in 2018, in which the general manager, head coach and executive vice president/director of football operations report directly to the president. Previously, only the GM reported to the president while the other two reported to the GM. Murphy changed the hierarchy seven years ago so Gutekunst, then a new GM, could focus on personnel and not have to oversee McCarthy and Russ Ball, the team's executive VP and director of football operations, who remains in the role.
'What I see the president's role being in this structure is to be kind of the chief facilitator,' Policy said. 'Selecting football leadership, guiding them and giving them all the resources they need and supporting them, evaluating them and then ultimately holding them accountable. Really, I think it's important to let them do their jobs.'
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Continuity is synonymous with the Packers. They've had two GMs in the last 20 years, two head coaches in the last 19 and three starting quarterbacks in the last 33. They made the playoffs in 13 of Murphy's 17 years in charge. Winning consistently has kept the Packers among the NFL's elite franchises. However, Murphy wrote in his penultimate monthly Q&A on Packers.com that he regrets delivering only one Super Bowl appearance during his tenure.
How Gutekunst and LaFleur do their jobs this season might dictate whether Policy brings them back in 2026. It will likely be his first significant decision in charge. The GM and head coach each have two years remaining on their contracts, and Policy isn't extending them now. He also doesn't want either in lame-duck contract years next season.
Policy could be leaning toward keeping the pair — he served on the hiring panels for both, raved about what they've done since and has strong personal and professional relationships with them — but in what will be an early test, Policy must do what his father taught him: put personal feelings aside to make the best decision for the Packers.
(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Mike Roemer / Associated Press)