Should Brian Gutekunst Join Matt LaFleur on Packers’ Hot Seat?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is on the hot seat, and deservedly so, after the fourth-quarter implosion against the Chicago Bears. The team ended the season with a five-game losing streak, with it blowing sizable leads in three games and getting blown out in a fourth.

Should he be joined by general manager Brian Gutekunst?

It’s a fair question. To a large extent, a coach is only as good as the players he’s given. A perfect example is defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s unit. Was it his fault his group was defenseless at times down the stretch without a premier pass rusher, premier cornerback or stout defensive tackle?

Here is the case for and against Gutekunst.

The Case for Packers to Fire Brian Gutekunst

1. Failing to Address the Obvious

It was obvious to anyone with more than two functioning brain cells that the Packers might have a problem at cornerback. Keisean Nixon, despite his proclamation that he was “CB1,” had never proven to be anything of the sort. The team’s big free-agent addition, Nate Hobbs, hadn’t proven to be a starting cornerback but was given a contract commensurate with being a top performer. Carrington Valentine had never proven he could tackle.

And yet, the key offseason transactions at the position were signing Hobbs, releasing Jaire Alexander and drafting Micah Robinson in the seventh round.

It was equally obvious that the Packers would have a problem at defensive tackle after letting T.J. Slaton go in free agency and then trading Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons deal. So, Green Bay went into the season with Devonte Wyatt, former fourth-round pick Colby Wooden, former sixth-round pick Karl Brooks, sixth-round rookie Warren Brinson and undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse as the five players at the position.

“I feel really good about the group,” Gutekunst said after the Parsons trade. “We obviously have a couple of unproven rookie players that haven’t gone out there and done it, but they’ve done a nice job in camp so far and we’re excited about it.”

For the most part, the coverage held up until Parsons was injured, and the run defense held up until Wyatt and Parsons were injured. However, the Packers were run over by Baltimore’s Derrick Henry and destroyed by Chicago’s Caleb Williams in the second half.

The Packers didn’t make a deal at the trade deadline, threw some Hail Marys at defensive tackle and didn’t make a move at cornerback at all until Dallas dumped Trevon Diggs before Week 18.

2. Horrific Free Agency

Gutekunst’s track record in big-money free agency was practically impeccable. He signed Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Billy Turner and Adrian Amos in 2019 and Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs in 2024. He went 6-for-6.

He went 0-for-2 this year, though. Aaron Banks was a decent guard with the 49ers who was given a top-of-the-market contract. Hobbs was a decent slot defensive back with the Raiders (when healthy) who was expected to be an every-down cornerback.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is unable to catch a would-be touchdown while being covered by Nate Hobbs. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Neither signing panned out. And that’s not Monday morning quarterback in the case of either Banks or Hobbs.

Given their contracts and the team’s cap challenges, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Gutekunst washed his hands of both players, though that would be further weakening of suspect positions and dump a bunch of dead money on the salary cap.

3. Too Many Bad Drafts

The Packers are a draft-and-develop franchise. Thus, it’s imperative to nail enough of those draft picks to handle the annual free-agent attrition.

It’s obviously too early to render judgement on the 2025 draft class, though a cornerback or defensive tackle might have been a better use of the third-round pick used on Savion Williams.

From the 2024 class, second-round picks Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard and fourth-round pick Evan Williams have been excellent, but the jury is out on first-round lineman Jordan Morgan and third-round linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper. Everyone else – including third-round running back MarShawn Lloyd – look like lost causes.

The only thing that matters about the Pro Bowl is who made it to the Pro Bowl. One Packers player was selected, which says something about the state of the team. ⬇️https://t.co/aPqBrtvp8V
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 23, 2025

The 2023 draft class has been saved by second-round receiver Jayden Reed and third-round tight end Tucker Kraft, but first-round edge Lukas Van Ness is trending toward a bust, second-round tight end Luke Musgrave has fallen off the face of the earth, and the likes of Colby Wooden, Dontayvion Wicks, Karl Brooks and Carrington Valentine in Day 3 have been OK.

The 2022 draft class was quite strong. While there’s a chance only Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson and Zach Tom will return to the team in 2026, there will be a strong recoup in compensatory picks if the Packers lose Quay Walker, Romeo Doubs, Kingsley Enagbare and Rasheed Walker in free agency.

Isaiah McDuffie, a role-playing linebacker, is the only player from the 2021 draft class still on the roster. Franchise quarterback Jordan Love is the only player who remains from the 2020 draft class. Assuming the Packers release Rashan Gary and Elgton Jenkins, nobody will remain from 2019.

The Case for Packers Extending Brian Gutekunst

1. Nailed Most Important Position

Nothing matters more than finding a quarterback. We’ll never know if the Packers would have made a run at a Super Bowl had they used their first-round pick in 2020 on a receiver or some other position, but it’s undeniable that using that pick on Jordan Love has kept the team’s championship window wide open.

Gutekunst deserves credit for having the intestinal fortitude to draft Aaron Rodgers’ replacement after reaching the NFC Championship Game. Had it not worked out, he likely would have been fired by the Packers and probably would never get another chance to run a team.

Speaking of quarterbacks, he deserves credit for ditching former draft picks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt and trading for Malik Willis. Willis was terrible with the Titans but excellent for the Packers. He will be given a chance to start in free agency and the Packers will be given a nice compensatory draft pick as a thank you for their service.

2. Nailed Challenging Transition

It wasn’t just the drafting of Love that kept Green Bay’s championship window open.

It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, to be sure, but just look at the state of the Packers and Saints. The Packers are 3-for-3 in reaching the playoffs since transitioning from Rodgers to Love. The Saints are 0-for-5 since transitioning from Drew Brees to their menagerie of quarterbacks.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love throws a pass during the wild-card game at the Chicago Bears. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Orleans is still dealing with salary-cap fallout because of their ill-fated attempts of trying to win with the likes of Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton and David Carr.

While the Saints are spinning their wheels – they’ll enter this offseason merely $27 million over the cap – the Packers hit the ground running. Gutekunst deserves a lot of credit for navigating a difficult situation and giving himself the ability to acquire McKinney, Jacobs and Parsons.

3. Could Have Done Something Big

The facts are indisputable. After a 2-0 start, the Packers went 7-8-1 in their final 16 games. They lost their last five games. They lost in the playoffs, falling far short of the Super Bowl for the fifth consecutive season.

However, in Week 15, the Packers were pummeling the Denver Broncos, who wound up earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Parsons and Tom were injured in that game and the Packers lost. In Week 16 at Chicago, the Packers dominated the Bears for the better part of 58 minutes and lost. In the playoff game at Chicago, the Packers dominated the first half and still held a commanding lead into the fourth quarter before a season-ending loss.

Some of Gutekunst’s draft picks and personnel moves are worthy of critique. However, he had built a roster strong enough to be wiping the floor with Ben Johnson’s Bears twice in less than a month even without Kraft, Wyatt, Parsons and Tom.

The future is bright. An offense with Love, Jacobs, Kraft, Watson, Reed and Matthew Golden looks incredibly formidable. A defense with Parsons has the ability to close out any lead handed to it by the offense.

With the right moves at coach – whether that’s the head coach or coordinators or assistant coaches – a couple key additions and a healthy roster, this Gutekunst-built roster should be in the Super Bowl conversation in 2026.

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