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Dallas, Texas - Milwaukee native Gil Brandt, the former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, retains his formidable storytelling skills.
Brandt, who worked for the Cowboys from 1960 to ’88, shared some anecdotes about two of the most prominent members of the Packers’ organization, general manager Ted Thompson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Brandt, 77, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He now provides content for NFL.com and is a commentator on Sirius NFL Radio.
Brandt said he has known Thompson since he was a player at SMU.
“He hired Mike McCarthy,” Brandt said during an interview at the Super Bowl XLV Media Center. “I told Ted, ‘I really thought you could have made a better choice than that.’ I really wasn’t sold on McCarthy. I went to camp up there for three days. About the second day I was there and I told him, ‘You know what? You made the right choice.’ ”
Brandt, said Thompson has been doing a “phenomenal” job with the Packers.
“Ted is not the kind of guy who is going to sit down at the bar and talk to a lot of people and tell them a lot of stories,” Brandt said. “But you look at this team. There have only been only three other teams since 2000 that have had 15 or more guys on injured reserve. The other three teams won six or fewer games. They have done a fantastic job.”
Brandt praised Thompson for having the “fortitude” to “get rid of” Brett Favre and “hang his hat on” Rodgers.
Brandt recalls the time of the 2005 draft, when Rodgers dropped on the board and was chosen 24th by Green Bay.
Brandt said he witnessed the workouts by Alex Smith and Rodgers, which took place a day apart of one another before the ’05 draft. Brandt said Smith worked out on a Wednesday and Rodgers on Thursday.
“In the workout, if you asked who is the best to come in and play right now, Smith looked more ready to play right now,” Brandt said.
Both Smith and Rodgers were brought to the draft in New York.
“On Friday afternoon, Greg Aiello called me and said, ‘Look it, Rodgers is falling. We that know through 20 nobody is going to take him.’ So I said I’d talk to him. That night, I took him out to dinner at Carmine’s. Before I took him out to dinner, I made a call to (Packers director of college scouting) John Dorsey in Green Bay. I said, ‘John, you are going to get Rodgers. Be ready.’ He said, ‘We’re ready. If he’s there, we are going to take him.’ ”
After dinner, Brandt told Rodgers he was going to fall in the draft.
“I said if you don’t want to come, because he was there by himself, and he said no I’ll face it. The bad thing that happened was that ESPN put the cameras on him, put the cameras on him, put the cameras on him. It’s tough for a guy to react to that.”
Brandt said scouts don’t know how hard a player will work to become better after he is drafted.
“He not only made himself better on the field because of his work ethic, but the guy had a great rapport with all these young players,” Brandt said about Rodgers.
Brandt, who worked for the Cowboys from 1960 to ’88, shared some anecdotes about two of the most prominent members of the Packers’ organization, general manager Ted Thompson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Brandt, 77, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He now provides content for NFL.com and is a commentator on Sirius NFL Radio.
Brandt said he has known Thompson since he was a player at SMU.
“He hired Mike McCarthy,” Brandt said during an interview at the Super Bowl XLV Media Center. “I told Ted, ‘I really thought you could have made a better choice than that.’ I really wasn’t sold on McCarthy. I went to camp up there for three days. About the second day I was there and I told him, ‘You know what? You made the right choice.’ ”
Brandt, said Thompson has been doing a “phenomenal” job with the Packers.
“Ted is not the kind of guy who is going to sit down at the bar and talk to a lot of people and tell them a lot of stories,” Brandt said. “But you look at this team. There have only been only three other teams since 2000 that have had 15 or more guys on injured reserve. The other three teams won six or fewer games. They have done a fantastic job.”
Brandt praised Thompson for having the “fortitude” to “get rid of” Brett Favre and “hang his hat on” Rodgers.
Brandt recalls the time of the 2005 draft, when Rodgers dropped on the board and was chosen 24th by Green Bay.
Brandt said he witnessed the workouts by Alex Smith and Rodgers, which took place a day apart of one another before the ’05 draft. Brandt said Smith worked out on a Wednesday and Rodgers on Thursday.
“In the workout, if you asked who is the best to come in and play right now, Smith looked more ready to play right now,” Brandt said.
Both Smith and Rodgers were brought to the draft in New York.
“On Friday afternoon, Greg Aiello called me and said, ‘Look it, Rodgers is falling. We that know through 20 nobody is going to take him.’ So I said I’d talk to him. That night, I took him out to dinner at Carmine’s. Before I took him out to dinner, I made a call to (Packers director of college scouting) John Dorsey in Green Bay. I said, ‘John, you are going to get Rodgers. Be ready.’ He said, ‘We’re ready. If he’s there, we are going to take him.’ ”
After dinner, Brandt told Rodgers he was going to fall in the draft.
“I said if you don’t want to come, because he was there by himself, and he said no I’ll face it. The bad thing that happened was that ESPN put the cameras on him, put the cameras on him, put the cameras on him. It’s tough for a guy to react to that.”
Brandt said scouts don’t know how hard a player will work to become better after he is drafted.
“He not only made himself better on the field because of his work ethic, but the guy had a great rapport with all these young players,” Brandt said about Rodgers.
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