Brian Gutekunst is entering his seventh year as the Green Bay Packers’ General Manager. Needless to say, it has been quite the eventful tenure. He has had some success in the NFL Draft with the selections of Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary, and Elgton Jenkins. He has also brought in impactful free agents such as Preston and Za’Darius Smith, Adrian Amos, and Billy Turner. Those acquisitions, however, occurred four years ago, Since then, Gutekunst has been the center of debateable events such as the 2020 NFL Draft, and the losses of Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers. Every General Manager is going to have their up and down years, No one is perfect. However, with the way things are spiraling right now, it is rightfully acceptable to question if Brian Gutekunst is the right person for the General Manager position. Let’s take a look at some situations that can be used to defend that claim:
A Super Bowl Window Was Shut Seemingly Too Soon
The Green Bay Packers were embarrassed in the 2019 NFC Championship game. Going into the offseason, Green Bay was in need of a defensive lineman, inside linebacker, and multiple weapons for Aaron Rodgers. What did Brian Gutekunst do? Instead, he went completed the 2020 NFL Draft and did not address any position need in that entire draft. When a General Manager thinks like that, it is an indication that they are not confident that their team can win a championship with the current core of players on the roster. The past two drafts after 2020 has been another clear sign that the Packers have been in a rebuild mode the past three seasons. From 2019-2021, Green Bay has been one or two players away from competing for a world championship. That is an argument that most people can attest to. There is absolutely nothing wrong with building for a team’s future, However, when a General Manager has that mindset, and clashes it with a claim that the team is still in a ‘win now’ mentality, things are just not meant to mesh together. That is currently the situation Green Bay is in, and it is very very unclear what the exactly the mindset and mentality truly is going forward.
Questionable Commitment to Aaron Rodgers
The center of all things right now is the trade talks with Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. Compensation is still the biggest question mark in this entire situation. Last offseason, Green Bay gave Rodgers a three year, $150 million contract extension. That is all fine and good, but, after one year, why decide to trade your franchise quarterback? The ramifications of this decision are very concerning as there is a $60 million contract that needs to be eaten up. Additionally, not very many teams are going to be able to afford that massive of a contract, especially for a player who may only play one more season. The other ramification is that Green Bay is most certainly not going to get the trade package that they think they are deserving of. This could be the nature of the business, but one cannot help but to see this as a very careless decision on Brian Gutekunst’s end. This may very also be a factor as to why the Packers cannot be very aggressive in free agency right now and re-sign players to cheap deals. In the end, Rodgers’ contract should have been more well-thought of, or should have never been offered from the beginning.
No Signs of Improvement Or Change In Front Office Decisions
Brian Gutekunst took over as General Manager in 2018 as Ted Thompson stepped down into an advisory position. Ted Thompson was well-known to rely heavily on the ‘Draft and Develop’ philosophy, and not have a huge focus on free agency, unless absolutely needed to. Over time, packer fans started to see this mindset start to have a negative impact on talent on the roster. When a change is made at a position such as General Manager, there needs to be a different approach to things. We have not seen a change in how the roster is assembled, and the focus on free agency is still where is was over seven years ago. Because of this, things are stale and the franchise looks to not be heading in the direction that Brian Gutekunst I am sure was hoping for. When a franchise player publicly calls out the front office as Aaron Rodgers did two offseasons ago, it is a sign and call for change for the betterment of the team. Make no mistake, I do not think that Brian Gutekunst should be fired at this moment. However, if things do not pan out in the next two years, Mark Murphy and the Board of Directors need to take a hard look at Brian Gutekunst’s future with the team.
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