Probably the most entertaining coach/general manager of the NFL Combine on Thursday was Seahawks GM John Schneider. The De Pere native and former Packers exec covered a lot of ground, including talking about Ted Thompson, one of the key guys he learned from before taking over his own franchise.

On Thompson’s growing GM-tree, including Reggie McKenzie and John Dorsey:

Ted’s a great person, he’s a great teacher.  Great leader, extremely even-keeled.  I think he’s probably taught a lot of us to be even-keeled, humble and move forward every day.  He’s a great guy.

Schneider asked if he can go to Ted for advice.

Does he come to me for advice? {Laughter} Absolutely, I have a great relationship with Ted, we talk a lot.

Thompson and Schneider have different styles with the media, Schneider much more open

It’s him, it’s the person. He’s a very humble, quiet person.

When Schneider worked for Packers, was he concerned with keeping things close to the vest like Thompson tends to?

I think he’s very smart, very calculating. Knows what he wants to give and what he doesn’t.  I’m sure he’s just not just a guy that’s going to, you know … believe it or not, he’s very funny if you hang out with him.  I’ve seen him on TV and stuff, I think he’s way better at it, I think he’s gotten much better, much more comfortable.  It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, you know. It’s part of the job.