GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Before the Super Bowl spotlight ever reached them, both teams’ general managers were students in Green Bay.
Eliot Wolf and John Schneider, now leading opposing teams into football’s biggest game, each attended Catholic high schools in Green Bay before beginning careers that eventually brought them back to Green Bay with the Packers.
Former athletic director and current business manager at Notre Dame Academy, Ken Flaten, said the moment is a point of pride for the community.
“It’s been amazing because, you know, we’re such a small community,” Flaten said. “It’s really cool, and it shows how tight-knit this community is in Green Bay, and the type of Catholic education here in Green Bay.”
Wolf attended Notre Dame Academy, where his early interest in football stood out. Carolyn Brown, who taught Wolf in freshman honors English, remembered him as both a strong student and a passionate football mind.
“I didn’t know John, but I did teach Eliot in freshman honors English,” Brown said. “He was a good student—I think he made an A in my class. He was a great kid, and he knew everything there was to know about football. Of course, I attributed that to his father and his father’s role here in Green Bay and in his life.”
Wolf’s father, Ron Wolf, was the longtime general manager of the Packers, a connection that helped shape Eliot Wolf’s early understanding of the game.
“At 13 years old, he could evaluate a player’s potential 10 years down the road as an NFL player, and that’s a pretty amazing trait,” Flaten said.
Schneider’s path was different. He attended Abbot Pennings, one of the Green Bay's former all-boys Catholic schools.
“With John, I think he was the exact opposite,” Flaten said. “He came from a line of very talented athletes in his family.”
Despite their different backgrounds, both Wolf and Schneider eventually worked for the Packers, another shared connection that adds to the local significance of their Super Bowl matchup.
Flaten said their stories continue to resonate with current students at Notre Dame Academy.
“Do not give up,” he said. “You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.”
As Super Bowl week approached, Brown reached out to Wolf to acknowledge the moment.
“I emailed him and said, ‘You’re in the news again. This is the talk of the town in Green Bay,’” Brown said. “I wrote him all about that.”
Notre Dame Academy was formed through the merger of three Catholic high schools in Green Bay — an all-boys school, an all-girls school and a co-ed school — creating shared roots across the community. Those connections extend beyond the front offices.
“Even the announcer on the radio broadcast is a graduate of Our Lady of Premontre High School—Kevin Harlan,” Flaten said. “It’s really cool to see all these big national things.”
As for who he would be rooting for, Flaten offered a perspective familiar to Packers fans.
“We’re Packer fans, so I always like to see that,” he said. “But the way I look at it is, Notre Dame can’t lose.”
No matter the outcome, Green Bay will be represented on football’s biggest stage at Super Bowl 60.
