Time to give Brian Gutekunst & Green Bay Packers front office credit

If you’re a Green Bay Packers fan, you probably remember where you were this past April when the news broke regarding MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers wanting out of Green Bay amid his growing frustration with the front office.

Over the spring and into the summer, you probably even got together with some friends and family, tarting your conversations out with “whose side are you on?”

You don’t have to look much into it. It’s honestly hard to find a front office executive who was more scrutinized and dragged through the mud more than Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst during this past off-season. Every talking head, national and local, was making sure it was known that Gutekunst was failing—and failing fast.

Fast forward a handful of months, and once again, the Packers are knocking on the door for a hopeful title run, in large part, thanks to the front office. Gutekunst has done a marvelous job, not only this season but over his entire tenure, and is slowly cementing himself as one of the best executives in all of the NFL.

From day one, Brian Gutekunst has left his mark on the Green Bay Packers and the league

Outside of Rodgers, Gutekunst’s draft picks, some of which came under heavy fire, are a huge reason this team has Super Bowl aspirations once again this season.

His first-round choices have been spectacular over his entire tenure as the Green Bay Packers general manager. Let’ start with his first draft—swapping picks with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 and drafting cornerback Jaire Alexander with the 14th overall selection. Alexander has become a star, earning All-Pro honors last season.

The following season he took some heat as he selected Rashan Gary from Michigan, with the 12th overall pick. In that same draft, he took a gamble, trading up in the first round to select Darnell Savage with the 21st overall pick.

Arguably the best selection of that draft wasn’t the two chosen in the first round, but his second-round pick of Elgton Jenkins in the second round. He is a perennial Pro-Bowler and one of the best linemen in all of the NFL in only his third season, who can, and has played every position upfront.

Sure, some of his picks haven’t panned out. Look around the league at how many vacant general manager jobs there are. It happens every year within every team. The draft is a crapshoot, and if you land one or two good players, it was a good draft, and so far, Gutekunst has done it every single year.

From his first draft as the general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Gutekusnt’s picks have turned out pretty good, especially those selected in the first couple of rounds. Outside of the names I mentioned above, picks such as AJ Dillon, Josh Myers, Eric stokes, Jon Runyan Jr, Royce Newman, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling—all of whom have been key contributors to the success of this team.

Most Packer fans who want to criticize the job of Gutekunst will look at his selection of Jordan Love, and many will judge his tenure over how that pick pans out, but either way, time will undoubtedly tell how good — or bad — that selection was.

Gutenkunst was involved in the hiring process and eventually the selection of Matt LaFleur to become the 15th coach in franchise history

Another move that caught many off-guard and came under even more scrutiny. Many around the league questioned Gutekunst and President/Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy and whether or not LaFleur had the skill to run a football team as a head coach. Criticism aside, Gutekunst spoke highly of LaFleur and also had a clear vision from Day 1 of his head coach hire:

"“We found a coach with the background and experience that we think will get us back to playing winning football. We’re also excited about the person, he is bright with a great work ethic and a perfect fit for Green Bay and the organization.”"

Not only was the hiring of LaFleur questioned from an X’s and O’s standpoint, but many wondered how he would fare with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and whether he could control a team with Rodgers, who is a few years younger than LaFleur.

Those concerns, along with the questions, were put to rest over the past few years, as LaFleur has now won the most games (39) as a head coach in his first three seasons in the league, previously held by Super Bowl-winning coach George Seifert.

Again, give Gutekunst credit for the hiring of LaFleur and his vision for the team, as he has quickly turned out to be one of the best coaches in the league.

Brian Gutekunst has been incredible in the free-agent market

Many general managers come into their roles and immediately want to impact their teams with free-agent splashes.

Few, if any, have made an immediate impact like the one Gutekunst did in the 2019 off-season, making headlines early and seemingly often, signing Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, along with the drafting Gary. Also worth noting, safety Adrian Amos and offensive lineman Billy Turner were signed to deals in the same year. All four of those signings proved essential to this team’s success that year and still to this day.

Do you need more recent proof? Take a look at just this 2021 season where the Green Bay Packers have been decimated with injuries, all to vital positions on the field. Instead of sitting on his hands, losing Smith and Alexader to long-term injuries, Gutekunst went out and signed Rasul Douglas and Whitney Mercilus to the roster to fill their void.

You could easily make the case that Douglas, who has five interceptions, has been the team’s best cornerback since he was signed off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad on October 6th. Mercilus filled in wonderfully at the edge before suffering a torn biceps in Week 10 and is reportedly slated to return to action.

You could even make the case of releasing punter J.K Scott, and trading for Corey Bojorquez was a truly undervalued move and proved to be a massive swap for the special teams. And, of course, De’Vondre Campbell has been one of the best off-ball linebackers in football this season.

Whether in the off-season or in-season, Gutekunst has proven to be extremely good at signing free agents and deserves respect amongst the NFL as one of the best.

Gutekunst meets Rodgers halfway

The secret was let out mid-afternoon on April 29th, hours before many were getting ready to hear their name called after fulfilling a lifetime achievement and being drafted into the National Football League.

ESPN reporter Adam Schefter went on live television to report the significant disconnect between Rodgers and the Packers, making it a known point Rodgers wanted out of Green Bay after 16 seasons.

The Green Bay Packers front office, and most notably Gutekunst, remained mum throughout the off-season, making it a point to address only the present players during the off-season workouts, keeping any words out of his mouth that could potentially harm a Rodgers return before training camp.

Rodgers ultimately returned to the team the night before players reported to the facility for training camp, making his work with the front office a work in progress. Things have turned out to be pretty decent for the two. Some would even say, possibly repaired. Just see what Rodgers had to say as recent as last week regarding Gutenkunst:

"“I decided when I came back that I was going to be all in with the team and all in to see things move forward to a better place. And that’s what the conversations were about, you know, during the offseason, was about being a aprt of those conversations that impact my job. Brian and I sat down and got on the same page and it’s been a really nice fall and winter. I appreciate his approach, how it’s been and its been very meaningful to me. So I’m thankful for that relationship, where it’s at this point, and that’s made my life that much more enjoyable. So I got to give Brian a lot of credit for meeting me in the middle.”"

Say what you want about the off-season drama, whether the angst of Rodgers was stemmed from issues with the late Ted Thompson, Gutekunst, Mark Murphy, or maybe a little of all of the above. However you look at it, there was undoubtedly a massive divide amongst Packer nation, and Gutekunst is at the very least partly responsible for bringing it together and figuring it out.

Bringing the reigning MVP back, meeting him in the middle, picking up critical players at the most desperate time, and putting his team in a position to make another run at the Super Bowl, yet again, is quite the accomplishment—especially when things looked so bleak this off-season.

Regardless of what happens this upcoming off-season, Gutekunst is one of the best general managers in the National Football League, from hiring the right coaches, to off-season signings and critical in-season additions, or establishing a very deep roster at almost every position.

It’s time we start giving him the credit he rightfully deserves.