No man is more responsible for the current state of the Green Bay Packers as an organization than Bob Harlan.
Brett Favre and Reggie White led the resurgent 1990s-era Packers to a Super Bowl title. Mike Holmgren coached that team. Ron Wolf assembled it. But it was Harlan, the team President and CEO, who truly revitalized and reinvigorated a moribund franchise and assembled the right team of people to make the Packers something more than just the NFL’s Siberia.
Harlan took over as the head of the franchise in 1989. Less than eight years later, the team was atop the football world. His choice to remove any football decisions from the team’s board of directors and install a GM with power over all football operations (Wolf) is perhaps the most impactful single move for this franchise in the last 50 years.
Harlan also oversaw the biggest expansion in Lambeau Field’s history in the early 2000s. Without him, the Packers might not be in Green Bay any more at all. But beyond being an exceptional administrator, Harlan was a kind, approachable, generous man, one who always conducted himself with class and grace.
Younger Packers fans may not remember or appreciate just how meaningful Harlan’s impact on the Packers was. But in the wake of his passing, let’s be sure we honor him and his memory the only way we know how: by cheering for our team.