The Green Bay Packers are known today for their ability to win games and their history as one of the best franchises in the NFL.
One of the most important parts of the team’s history took place 65 years ago when the team hired coach Vince Lombardi, signing him to a five-year contract as the team’s head coach and general manager at $36,000 a year ($380,000 in current currency).
Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers to unprecedented success in the 1959 season, appearing in six championship games in nine years and winning five championships in seven years. The first was a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1960, but they went on to win NFL championships in 1961 and 1962. Lombardi is best known for his early Super Bowl success.
He won his last NFL championship in 1965 and then won three consecutive Super Bowls I and II. He will step down as head coach after the game, but will remain general manager. He left the team after the season and served as coach and general manager of the Washington Redskins for one season before his death in February 1969.
Overall, Lombardi went 94-34-6 and won five championships as coach of the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins and is considered the greatest coach of all time. Vince Lombardi took one of the weakest teams in football and made it a championship game at home.
What he did with the Green Bay Packers is very similar to what Bill Belichick did with the New England Patriots during their dynasty. The Packers were considered a lesser franchise because they were one of the worst teams in small markets like Green Bay, Wisconsin.
But if the guys want to win, he’s going to keep turning things around and it’s going to be Green Bay. This overall philosophy is evident in the backcourt trio of Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love.
