GREEN BAY, Wis. — Both executives who led their teams to the Super Bowl have deep ties to Green Bay and the Packers. 

Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider and New England Patriots Executive Vice President Eliot Wolf are about a decade apart in age. But they both grew up in the Green Bay area, with many similarities in their paths.

A DePere native, Schneider attended what was then Abbott Pennings High School, where he was Class of 1989.

“I know he was a state qualifier in track, but football was what he went on and played in college,” said Notre Dame Academy Director of Business Operations Ken Flaten, who previously was an athletic director at Premontre High School and Notre Dame Academy. “After he graduated, he played for one year at Saint Thomas (Minnesota) before he got hurt. So, football was his big thing, and he was a running back.”

Abbott Pennings merged into what became known as Notre Dame Academy. Eliot Wolf was Class of 2000 there.

“You could always see that he was going to have a knack and a niche, that he loved being in this line of work with evaluating players,” said Flaten.

That knack was understandable. Eliot Wolfs’s dad, Ron, is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his tenure as general manager of the Packers.

“I had heard the story that Eliot had started writing reports and working in the draft room with his dad between 10 and 13 years old,” said Flaten. “You just figured he was going to be there.”

Schneider worked for the Packers as a scout under Ron Wolf from 1993-‘96. He returned to the Packers as a top aide to Ted Thompson from 2002-‘09. Eliot Wolf worked in scouting and personnel for the Packers for 14 years, from 2004 until 2017.

“I think these guys knew that this is something they wanted to do,” said Flaten. “And when they work at it, look what they can rise to. They’re people people. They really can build relationships and look at the success they’ve gotten because of that.”

Schneider even remembers babysitting Eliot Wolf in Green Bay. Now, they’re leading their respective teams to the Super Bowl.