GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Inside the Lambeau Field atrium Monday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers held a celebration of life for the late Packers president Bob Harlan. Talking to anyone inside or outside the organization, Harlan had a way to make everyone feel special.
“Not only is this the most historic franchise in pro football,” said Harlan’s son Kevin Harlan, the legendary sportscaster, “but it’s become now the most innovative. And for Little Green Bay, Wisconsin — think of that. Isn’t this remarkable? It’s the best story in sports.”
Kevin Harlan was joined in remembering his father by a few big names in franchise history, including current Packers President Ed Policy.
“This roof in the atrium below it would not exist if not for Bob’s vision and his tenacity,” Policy said.
Policy had known Harlan from a young age, when his dad, Carmen Policy, was running the 49ers.
“By far the most important meeting I ever had with him was when I got this job,” Policy said. “I called Bob and asked to meet with me for just half an hour. I was trying to be very respectful of his time. Bob came over and met with me at Lambeau Field’s atrium for about three and a half hours, and was incredibly gracious with his time and his wisdom. That’s a conversation I’ll never forget.”
After the event, NBC 26 caught up with former Packers President Mark Murphy, who said it was hard following a legend.
“Every time issues would come up — and for three, four, five years — I’d call Bob and say, ‘What do you think about this issue?’ And he was just so gracious with his time,” Murphy said.
Making an appearance was former Green Bay and current Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who couldn’t help but get choked up when he took the stage.
“My memory will always be him with a cup of coffee,” McCarthy said. “Showing up in the office, ‘Are you getting everything you need? And how’s Jessica? How are the boys doing?’ The boys were really young then.”
But another Packers legend got choked up as well: former GM Ron Wolf. Together, the pair turned the Packers from a struggling franchise back into a winning one.
“Green Bay was deader than a dead mule when I got here,” Wolf said. “For Bob Harlan to take a chance on me and give me this opportunity — again, as I said, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime place and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
At a game to be determined later this season, the Packers will add Harlan’s name to the Wall of Legends.
