“Inside the Huddle” – Standing the test of time

Rich Palzewic

Staff

August 25, 2025

GREEN BAY – With more episodes than “M*A*S*H,” “Game of Thrones,” “Modern Family” and “Seinfeld,” “Inside the Huddle’s” more than 450 episodes over the last two and a half decades have them all beat.

Produced in partnership between TEAM LAMMI and WLUK Fox 11, “Inside the Huddle” is entering its 25th season as one of the go-to Green Bay Packers player insider shows.

“However you write it, 25 years is a long time,” Jay Zollar, vice president/general manager of WLUK Fox 11/WCWF CW 14, said. “That’s how long ‘Inside the Huddle’ – Green Bay’s premier Packers insider player show – has been around. I’ve always been passionate about providing local community content that people would find interesting. Insider information about the Packers is always good local content.”

Zollar said “Inside the Huddle” airs on Fox 11 Tuesday nights at 5:30.

“It also airs in Milwaukee, Madison, Wausau and other markets,” he said. “It’s the highest-rated, local Packers-related show on TV. It’s consistently been one of the highest-rated shows. If you own a TV in Wisconsin, you can watch our show. We’re not limited to just one cable network – we’re on all over-the-air, free TV stations statewide.”

A look back ‘Inside the Huddle’

Twenty-five years ago, Zollar said he was fortunate to meet Brian Lammi, CEO of TEAM LAMMI and “Inside the Huddle” production partner.

He said Lammi had a dream of putting a Packers show on the air every week during the season.

“When we started, we didn’t necessarily know what we had, but it grew and took off,” he said. “Over 25 years, it’s evolved with different hosts and different guests – we’re looking forward to another great season.”

Lammi said his team feels “very blessed” to still be working with the same leaders at Fox 11 as they were more than two decades ago when the show started.

“That starts with Jay,” he said. “I think it’s pretty remarkable to have a 25-year, successful relationship like this. I always say, we’ve had more successful episodes together than… most shows in TV history. Yes, those shows had more distribution, but it’s incredibly difficult to continue to entertain audiences.”

Including special shows, Lammi said the show has featured guests Jerry Kramer, Bart Starr, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love, Donald Driver, Clay Matthews, Davante Adams and several others.

“It’s pretty much been every top Green Bay Packers player over the years,” he said. “I think that’s a testament to the fun opportunities and exposure the show has created for a lot of these top players.”

Zollar said he thinks “Inside the Huddle” has stood the test of time because of its fun nature.

“It doesn’t just deal with the X’s and O’s of football,” he said. “It certainly talks about some of the intricacies of football, but it goes behind the scenes – you get to learn the personalities of the players who have appeared. It’s always been different and on the lighter side of things. The show is personality-driven.”

Daniel Spangler, creative services director and commercial production manager at WLUK, said the Packers are unique because they are owned by the community – “that helps the show.”

“You can find stats anywhere on the internet, but the show is a unique opportunity to create an even deeper community connection with a team that already is ingrained in the community,” he said.

As part of his role with TEAM LAMMI, Lammi said he has produced these types of shows in other markets.

“I don’t think there are many examples of player-driven shows outside some of the shows we’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of,” he said. “Thanks to the success of our partnership with Fox 11, we produced a Chicago Bears player-focused show for 11 years.”

Lammi said they’ve also worked with the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts.

“At the time, the Colts had a punter named Pat McAfee – a sports analyst on College GameDay, a color commentator and current host of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ – as a rookie,” he said.

Currently, Lammi said TEAM LAMMI produces a Kansas City Chiefs show and will be launching a Buffalo Bills podcast soon.

“We’re not looking to compete with the stat-happy, up-to-the-minute update type of shows,” he said. “We are different from most of the others.”

Lammi credited Ryan Wing – WLUK Fox 11’s sports director and current co-host of “Inside the Huddle” – with helping maintain the show’s quality.

“The talent of the Fox 11 sports team wants to be there and do the show,” he said. “We’ve had a few other markets where the sports guys haven’t wanted to do [a similar show]. The folks at Fox 11 take a lot of pride in their roles.”

Zollar said in the past, they used to do remote shows at different locations – like The Bar on Holmgren and Burkel’s Sports Bar & Grill – but that has changed.

“The majority of our shows are now done in the studio,” he said. “Not all of them are done in the studio – we still do a few remotely. Working in the studio gives us a lot of flexibility and consistency. Taping inside the studio gives us a bit more control.”

Lammi said he expects some of the bigger names who have appeared on the show in the past to make an appearance for year 25.

“From Donald to Jordy Nelson, to Mason Crosby, to James Jones – we’re also excited to mix in some current players like Jordan Love and Christian Watson,” he said. “Having different players on – compared to one player – seems to be the best way to run things now. The players have a lot of different obligations, so it makes it tough for one player to always show up.”

Donald Driver era

Lammi said Driver, the show’s original guest host, really put “Inside the Huddle” on the map.

He said Driver – a 1999 seventh-round pick out of Alcorn State – made the show a priority, even though he had other player obligations.

“Donald would do 16 shows a season for roughly 10 consecutive years,” he said. “I think that’s what the fans have come to love. We’ve literally tried to ‘take the helmets off’ these players and show a different side.”

Lammi said Driver was an easy choice because the Packers Hall of Famer wanted to get more involved with the media and the Green Bay community.

“Donald loves people, loves the connections and gets energy from his interactions with people,” he said. “Doing that many shows now sounds like a daunting amount for players, but for Donald, it was just a part of his routine. His family would show up – we literally watched Cristian Driver and some of his other kids grow up on the show. He was comfortable with the show, no doubt.”

Even though one single player doesn’t appear consistently on the show anymore, Lammi said they continue to see players enjoy being a part of “Inside the Huddle.”

“I give Brian a lot of credit because Donald wasn’t a top-round pick – Brian saw something in him,” Zollar said. “Donald helped the show, but I also think the show helped Donald – he’s got a strong and unique personality. During his first season, he was just a rookie who made the team, but he was able to showcase his personality on the show.”

In all of the previous “Inside the Huddle” seasons, Lammi said Driver has never missed appearing on the show.

“Obviously, it’s not as much as it used to be, but he always finds time to pop on the show a few times a season,” he said. “He still loves ‘Inside the Huddle’ to this present day and is excited to play a small role in season 25.”

Spangler said “Inside the Huddle” is not an easy show to produce because the players’ main professional focus is helping the Packers win football games.

“To schedule around what the players do professionally is sometimes a daunting task – sometimes last-minute changes happen,” he said.

To help combat this, Lammi said they try to get things scheduled well in advance.

“Having said that, there are moving parts and adjustments that need to be made,” he said. “I think we’ve always had a player on the show, but I remember one time when there was a late practice, so the show started with [former host] Drew Smith and Donald Driver’s bobblehead.”

Lammi said Driver told him afterward the Packers coach at the time wasn’t too happy with the team after a rough game the previous weekend.

“I forget who the coach was, but he made some smart comment about how Donald was going to miss the start of the show,” he laughed.

Though the coach gave Driver a difficult time because he had to rush to the show after practice, Lammi said that spoke volumes to the popularity of “Inside the Huddle.”

“The fact the head coach knew about ‘Inside the Huddle’ and when it aired showed the relevancy of the show,” he said.

“Inside the Huddle’s” 25th season kicks off Sept. 9.

“I don’t see any reason why the show can’t be around for another 25 years and beyond,” Zollar said. “I think it’s a great product, and WLUK Fox 11 is happy to be a partner in producing the show with TEAM LAMMI.”