Jones ready to take reins
He's set to succeed Harlan as Packers president this week
By DON WALKER
[email protected]
Posted: May 27, 2006
Green Bay - Since 1989, Bob Harlan has led the Green Bay Packers franchise through 13 straight winning seasons, 10 playoff appearances, two Super Bowls and a difficult and draining fight to get taxpayer support to renovate Lambeau Field.
On Wednesday, as part of a succession plan Harlan put in place, the Packers' board of directors will endorse a move that calls for Harlan to step aside so John Jones can take over as the team's 10th president and chief operating officer.
Harlan, as much a part of the Packers' image in Wisconsin as quarterback Brett Favre, isn't going away entirely. Now 69, he will remain with the franchise as chief executive officer and chairman of the Packers' board of directors for one more year. In May 2007, he will become chairman emeritus, and his role will diminish greatly.
At that time, Jones, now 54, will become chairman and CEO.
Even with Harlan around, the Jones era already has begun. In a significant move, the two spoke to the Journal Sentinel in separate interviews, a clear sign that Harlan wanted to give Jones a chance to articulate his own vision.
During the National Football League draft, general manager Ted Thompson spoke with both Harlan and Jones to tell them of his decision to go with linebacker A.J. Hawk as the Packers' first-round pick. The year before, Thompson spoke only to Harlan.
Jones takes control of a franchise that is financially sound, thanks in no small part to the $295 million Lambeau Field makeover, which allowed the Packers to generate more in-stadium revenue and remain competitive.
But Jones also is taking over an organization that stumbled through a 4-12 season last year, ending the string of winning seasons. Harlan said many veteran front-office employees had never experienced a year in which the Packers had a losing season.
Additionally, there is an untested new head coach, Mike McCarthy, in place. And there is Favre, a future Hall of Famer, playing in the twilight of his brilliant career with a team full of question marks.
Harlan, who joined the front office in 1971, conceded that last season was a "complete shock" to many Packers shareholders and fans.
"The thing that concerned me was the reaction by the shareholders and how really angry they were," Harlan said. "They were concerned about Favre not coming back and that Thompson wasn't spending salary-cap money."
It is those challenges that Jones will face now and into the future. He said he is ready and optimistic.
"It's a great milestone for anyone to think, to say the words, 'president of the Green Bay Packers,' " Jones said. "Those are hallowed words in all of sports. I'm deeply grateful and it's a privilege to have that opportunity. I'm grateful Bob and I have a year to spend together. Bob is always going to be a part of my team."
Looking outside for help
Harlan's impact on the franchise, in fact, will be felt for years to come. In the past, he said, the team's executive committee would hire a president from their own ranks, and that person would hire a general manager. But Harlan brought Jones and Thompson in from outside of the organization.
Jones joined the Packers in February 1999 after 10 years working with the NFL's Management Council. While with the Management Council, he was a member of the team that negotiated a collective-bargaining agreement with the players. Jones also played a part in creating the league's salary cap. That cap, both Harlan and Jones say, is critical to the Packers' well-being.
Jones has spent much of his time in Green Bay focusing on the business side of the franchise. Along with Harlan, Jones was a key player in the transformation of Lambeau Field from a venue where football was played 10 times a year to a year-round destination with more suites, more premium seating, restaurants, an atrium and a new Packer Hall of Fame.
Now Harlan is getting Jones more involved with the football side of the franchise.
"I want him to get him closer with Ted when Ted needs to make a decision," Harlan said. "I used to be the one when Ted or whoever it was would just sit down with me and we'd make a decision. I'm getting John included in that now."
Jones said: "We have a very good relationship and I'll show up in Ted's doorstep, or he'll show up at mine. If there is something that Ted needs to move us forward, or what Mike needs to move forward, that's why we have this building. That's why we put so much effort into the stadium. Because it is all pointed toward the football team, and having the resources and having a championship organization, not just in name, but in fact."
Both Harlan and Jones see themselves as delegators. Both believe that top managers need to be able to make decisions and grow as leaders on their own. That's true for coaches and front-office personnel, they say.
Jones is also a believer in strategic planning, leadership development and employee training. Jones, like Harlan, studied journalism in college and has a background in communications.
"When you work here, we all know we're a part of something bigger than ourselves," Jones said. "It's a very important and gratifying opportunity to build something that is so important like the Packers, not for ourselves but for what it means to the fans and the community."
The Packers are synonymous with Green Bay, and Jones is well-known in the community because of the Packers and their community and charitable efforts.
But Jones is not as well-known in Milwaukee, though that is changing. Mindful that the Packers played for decades in Milwaukee until leaving for good in 1994 - a decision Harlan says to this day was the toughest move he ever made - Jones has made a point of reaching out to Milwaukee.
Plans to be visible leader
He has given speeches, met community leaders and was offered and accepted a position with the Greater Milwaukee Committee, a key community group.
"The Milwaukee community for me is a personal priority," Jones said. "This franchise wouldn't be here if Milwaukee hadn't supported the Packers. Between Milwaukee and Green Bay, there wouldn't be a franchise."
Jones also plans to continue a Harlan tradition at the Packers executive offices: He'll answer his own phone.
Throughout his own career, Harlan has spoken to shareholders on the telephone, or answered their letters.
While Jones can rely on Favre at least for one more year, Jones has contemplated a Packers' future without him.
"Whenever the day comes when we begin to wait for Brett's enshrinement at Canton, that will be a bittersweet day because it's a day that will mark a great player who is immortal in our eyes and will be given immortality in the Hall of Fame," Jones said. "But it will be a transition in our organization. But we will manage it and achieve it successfully. Not because anybody can replace Brett Favre. . . . Brett would be the first to say that the Packers will be good in the future and they will be a winning organization in the future."
Will fans notice anything different on game day under a new Packers' president?
"Our goal is to have the best experience for fans on game day than any stadium in the NFL," Jones said. "We will be looking to continue that trend. It will be a very exciting year."
And, Jones and Harlan hope, a successful one
