In going from wannabe to Seahawks architect, John Schneider has learned to thrive in a job that requires obsessive legwork, aggressive dealmaking and impeccable people skills.
By Michael Silver | Dec. 13, 2016
Illustration by Mary Jane Kim
SEATTLE -- Nearly seven years ago, on a chilly Friday morning in early January, John Schneider was sitting in his office at Lambeau Field, marveling at the trajectory of his amazing NFL journey and pondering what adventures might lay ahead.
Schneider, who'd grown up a few miles away from the Green Bay Packers' iconic stadium, had parlayed an unlikely break during his college days -- when he transitioned from an undersized running back with unrealistic NFL dreams to a future Hall of Fame general manager's surprisingly successful "stalker" -- into a flourishing but low-profile front-office career. Then in his second year as the Packers' director of football operations, his life had come full circle, but he was on the verge of a potentially exciting detour
