It was five years until the Packers appeared on the cover of Sports Illustated again for the fifteenth time. The occasion was the hiring of Bart Starr as head coach and the seeming optimism that brought to the Green Bay organization in the summer of 1975. Starr, of course, had been the Packers’ quarterback from 1956-1971, and was at the helm for all five of Lombardi’s world championships of the 1960’s.
Starr is pictured on the magazine’s cover, running out with several players for a preseason game in Milwaukee, with the headline, “Bart Starr Takes Charge of the Packers.” Inside, the article starts under the heading, “A Fresh Start With Bart... Optimism permeates the summer air of Green Bay. Fans are sporting buttons and bumper stickers celebrating the return of Bart Starr, Mr. Nice Guy, and hoping for a renaissance of Lombardi’s winning ways.”
The article continues, “After spending 16 years as a player of heroic stature in Green Bay, Starr has returned to the Packers as general manager and head coach, the announcement being made fittingly enough last Christmas Eve (1974). Probably no first-time head coach has ever put more on the line... no one is more aware of this than Starr himself... he is in the position of trying to persuade the fans not to expect too much too soon.”
Starr later stated, “This job at Green Bay is like undertaking a personal quest for me. I owe a tremendous amount to the Packers. I want to hear them talked about with pride. I wouldn’t be coaching professional football if it wasn’t at Green Bay. I’ve been offered several head coaching jobs for more money than I’m getting here, and on teams that might have better players, but those teams aren‘t the Packers.”
Starr admitted years later that he wasn’t prepared for the head coaching position offered him in 1975, but that he was “intrigued” by the challenge. He would last until 1983, compiling a 52-76-3 record, with one postseason trip to the Playoffs — in the strike-shortened 1982 season.
