The Green Bay Packers are one of the most historic franchises in all of sports. As is the case for all sports around the world, a great deal of the credit for a team’s success goes to the players and head coaches. Last year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame established an award to change that.
Former Packers defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur was one of the inaugural recipients of the Award of Excellence, an award that the Hall of Fame bestows on former assistant coaches, athletic trainers, film directors, and other staff members for their underappreciated contributions to the game.
Now, in the second year of the award’s existence, three other former Packers staff members were honored with the award.
Three former #Packers staff members are honored with Awards of Excellence by the Pro Football Hall of Fame 🏆
The program recognizes significant contributors to the game from five categories 📰 https://t.co/2vvKu2tjwK
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 30, 2023
Former Green Bay Packers Staffers, Sherman Lewis, Al Treml, and Bob Noel Receive Hall of Fame’s Award of Excellence
In a statement that announced 17 former NFL staffers as recipients of the Award of Excellence, the Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said:
“This year’s group of 17 Assistant Coaches, Athletic Trainers, Equipment Managers, Film/Video Directors and Public Relations personnel have impacted their Clubs and the game of professional football positively, and this program is a way to recognize that.
“Each recipient has dedicated decades of time to creating meaningful change for their respective field, their teams and the National Football League.”
Sherman Lewis was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Packers on Mike Holmgren’s staff. He remained with Green Bay through Ray Rhodes’ lone year as head coach before working for the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Washington Commanders.
Of course, Lewis was the coordinator for some of the best offensive teams in the NFL at the time. His tenure in Green Bay saw Brett Favre win three MVP Awards and the team appear in two Super Bowls.
As a player, Lewis won three Super Bowls with Bill Walsh’s San Francisco 49ers.
Bob Noel was originally hired as one of the Packers’ full-time equipment manager by head coach Vince Lombardi. He spent over 40 years with the Packers and was part of five NFL Championship teams.
Al Traml was also hired by Coach Lombardi in a pioneering move that made Traml just the second ever full-time film director in the NFL. He was Green Bay’s head film director for 34 years and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2008.
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