As the Green Bay Packers underwent plenty of changes over the past week, fans around Titletown were hoping that offensive line coach Luke Butkus would be one of them.
The Packers' offensive line and their performance this season were a constant talking point every week, as this unit was supposed to be one of the strengths for Green Bay this season. That never materialized, thanks to injuries and overall inconsistent play, putting Butkus in the bullseye of Packers fans.
Over the past week, Packers fans have watched Bill Callahan and Dwayne Ledford get scooped up by other teams, slowly putting to bed the hopes of a change on the offensive coaching staff.
To make matters worse for Green Bay fans and their dreams on Thursday. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reported that ex-Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to hire James Campen, who was with McCarthy in Green Bay from 2007 to 2018.
According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the veteran offensive line coach was working as a consultant for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. Silverstein also mentions that Campen could’ve been a candidate in Green Bay if a change had been made.
Packers Likely Stuck with Luke Butkus After James Campen’s Departure
The fact that the Packers haven’t made any changes to the offensive coaching staff under head coach Matt LaFleur is not a good way to start the offseason.
It’s one thing not to move on from special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia (yet), but keeping around offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and Butkus doesn’t inspire much excitement going into 2026.
Again, it's no secret that the Packers’ offensive line was a massive disappointment, and that falls on Butkus’s shoulders. Rasheed Walker, who is scheduled to be a free agent, took a step back this season, and now it's unclear if Green Bay should bring him back.
Then there are the injuries to Zach Tom and Elgton Jenkins, which threw the entire offensive line out of whack. Rookie Anthony Belton showed some growth the more he played, which is a small feather in Butkus’s cap.
Conversely, the ongoing Jordan Morgan experiment was a mixed bag, which is not what you want to hear after two seasons. That said, if the Packers can get everybody healthy on the offensive line and play in their correct spots for 2026, maybe Butkus can change the narrative about himself.
But that’s a huge 'if' right now that Green Bay fans don’t trust him at this current moment, leaving it up to Butkus to prove that he's capable of turning things around. How much leeway he'll have remains to be seen.