Packers President and CEO-elect Mark Murphy shakes hands with a fan in the Lambeau Field Atrium on Wednesday, his first official day at 1265 Lombardi Ave.
Green Bay Packers President and CEO-elect Mark Murphy's first official day on the job Wednesday was -- not surprisingly -- uneventful, and that's likely to be the case during his first few months at 1265 Lombardi Ave.
That's simply a reward for stepping into the leadership role for a team that just finished the regular season tied for the best record in the NFC and has its first playoff bye in 10 years.
"I would not expect any major announcements or changes coming out of my office," Murphy told a group of reporters in the Lambeau Field Atrium on Wednesday afternoon. "I really want to use these first few months to get to know the organization, spend a lot of time meeting with people."
Murphy spent much of his first day doing that, as well as getting an official tour of Lambeau. Meeting and talking with employees and managers was how he began his stints as athletic director at both Colgate and Northwestern, and he found that was the best and most efficient way to learn the day-to-day operations in a new place.
He hopes to have plenty of time to learn at his own pace. Retiring Chairman Bob Harlan will remain in his role until the football season ends, which everyone in the building, including Murphy, hopes is later rather than sooner. At that time, Murphy will officially assume the title of President and CEO.
Until then, and perhaps for a short while beyond, Murphy also will work on getting his family settled in the community
"Actually today with the team not practicing, I had an opportunity to meet with an awful lot of the coaches," Murphy said. "I enjoyed that, spent quite a bit of time with them, spent a lot of time with Ted Thompson as well.
"It's really a chance to get to learn as much as I can about the Packers organization. I'm also going to use this opportunity to learn as much as I can about the interactions with the league."
Murphy has attended three Packers games thus far and said he spent part of the last month in New York City, meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and others in his office to get up to speed on league issues. He has a head start in that respect already, having served as the Washington Redskins representative to the players' union during his playing career, and as an assistant executive director for the union.
All that business will come soon enough, though. For now, he hopes to enjoy an extended postseason run by his new team. The anticipation of that in itself made his first day, though uneventful, all the more exciting.
"Absolutely," he said. "You can have a long career in the NFL and not be in this position."
