When Mark Murphy took the extraordinary step of seizing power in the vacuum of the 2017 offseason, some worried about a Machiavellian storyline playing out. Murphy gives himself power then becomes the de facto owner, meddling and convoluting a system that worked.
Except the system didn’t work, at least not for the Packers in recent years. Mike McCarthy constantly bumped heads with Ted Thompson, disagreeing about free agent signings and the way to construct a team. With that relationship growing increasingly icy and Thompson isolating himself, Murphy moved last offseason to quell tensions and hope to increase communication.