The Green Bay Packers held their annual shareholders meeting today. Among the many topics addressed was the future of general manager Brian Gutekunst, who by some accounts is the main reason for disgruntled quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ refusal to return to the team.
But by the looks of things, the Packers brass aren’t going to make Gutekunst the scapegoat for anything. Packers CEO and president Mark Murphy openly praised Gutekunst and says he has “tremendous confidence” in the Packers GM moving forward.
The Packers have achieved quite a lot with Gutekunst at the helm since he took over in 2018. He oversaw the hiring of Matt LaFleur in 2019, who has since led the team to back-to-back NFC Championship Game appearances.
But the elephant in the room is his allegedly tense relationship with three-time MVP Aaron Rodgers. Some reports have said that Rodgers will only return to the Packers if Gutekunst is fired.
Murphy says he has “tremendous confidence” in Gutekunst. https://t.co/5kHzYCvlPM
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 26, 2021
Few people in the league will argue that the Packers would have accomplished as much as they have in the last two years without Aaron Rodgers balling out. If the team’s commitment to Gutekunst leads to Rodgers’ departure, they will be hard-pressed to continue on their current run.
Gutekunst made his mark by drafting Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. If Rodgers truly does leave, his future in Green Bay will be completely tied to Love’s success.
But for now, it seems that the Packers are ready to commit to Gutekunst, regardless of what Rodgers wants.
It won’t take long for us to learn if they made the right choice or not.
The post Packers CEO Sends Clear Message About Team’s GM appeared first on The Spun.
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