The Greatest Villain In the History of All 32 NFL Teams
By Erik Lambert
Chicago Bears
player. 57. . HC. Green Bay Packers. Forrest Gregg . 6
There was never any doubt that a Packer was going to be the choice here, but many will be shocked to see that it’s not Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers. Each has taken their turn tormenting the Chicago Bears for years. Yet simply winning a lot of games doesn’t make a good villain. Not in the oldest rivalry in the NFL. A little extra spice is needed.
Enter Forrest Gregg. Here’s a man who became a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Vince Lombardi Packers, paving the way to five championships in the 1960s, often at the expense of the Bears. That alone is enough to verify his qualifications. It was what he did later as a head coach though that transformed him into Chicago’s version of Thanos.
When Gregg took over as coach of the Packers, one of his first orders of business was to toughen them up. His solution ramping up the rivalry with the Bears to the level of deliberate cheap shots. His players often took liberties when playing Chicago. Two of the most infamous moments came in back-to-back years.
In 1985, defensive back Mark Lee pushed Walter Payton so far out of bounds that he literally knocked the Hall of Fame running back over the Packers’ bench. He was ejected for that. The next season, defensive end Charles Martin bodyslammed quarterback Jim McMahon to the turf. This aggravated a previous shoulder injury the Bears quarterback had suffered and he was never really the same that season. Martin was suspended for two games.
Both of those incidents were signed off on by Gregg. It grew so heated that after beating the Packers in 1987 on a late field goal, Bears kicker Kevin Butler was seen looking towards the Green Bay sideline appearing to flip him off. Only a true villain can garner that sort of a response.