Winner of a record five NFL championships as a starting quarterback, Bart Starr was the overwhelming choice of Packers fans to succeed Devine, and the executive committee complied by awarding him a three-year contract as head coach and general manager, Dec. 24, 1974. Starr asked for "the prayers and patience of Packer fans everywhere…We will earn everything else."
Starr had only one season of experience as a coach – he was Devine's quarterbacks coach in 1972 – and things didn't turn out as he and Packers fans had hoped. He was handcuffed by a disastrous trade for aging quarterback John Hadl, which was agreed to by Devine just before the trade deadline of his final season. Hing given up five prime draft picks in the Hadl deal, the Packers finished 4-10, 5-9 and 4-10 again in Starr's first three seasons. They raised hope with an 8-7-1 finish in 1978, but then couldn't get over the hump.
Over five more seasons, the Packers enjoyed only one winning record, a 5-3-1 finish in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Green Bay made the playoffs that year and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in a home playoff game, but when the Packers went 8-8 in 1983, Starr was fired the day following a disappointing 23-21 loss at Soldier Field to the rival Chicago Bears.