OPINION: Gutekunst, LaFleur Meeting High Expectations
As the Green Bay Packers prepare for what has every indication to be a deep playoff run over the next couple weeks, it should be noted how far this organization has come over the past couple seasons.
Just over two years ago, the Packers fired Mike McCarthy in the midst of a 4-7-1 season, an unthinkable record for an Aaron Rodgers-led team. It was clear that replacing Ted Thompson as general manager, as the team had done the previous January, would not be the only required change of course for the organization.
Enter Brian Gutekunst as general manager and Matt LaFleur as head coach. The pair were tasked with essentially two jobs in one: making the most of Rodgers’ final contract years in Green Bay, while simultaneously building a core that will compete well into the future. As has been the expectation for decades in Titletown, “competing” did not mean merely for division titles or playoff spots, but for the trophy bearing Vince Lombardi’s name.
After an NFC Championship appearance off a 13-3 debut season under LaFleur, year two features one of the more dominant teams in Packers’ history. Offensively entering Week 17, the 2020 Packers had 474 points scored, 12 points shy of the second-highest scoring offense in team history. They also lead the league in scoring by 22 points entering the final week of the season. Of the other nine times the Packers have led the league in scoring dating back to 1937, they have ended that season with a championship or Super Bowl in five of those seasons. LaFleur’s scheme has efficiently maximized the talent around Rodgers, with a timely infusion of talent from Gutekunst.
While players ultimately make the plays that score touchdowns, make stops in the trenches and win games, coaches and general managers can go a long way toward putting those players in positions to succeed.
For Gutekunst, that has manifested in an aggressive approach to free agent acquisitions both in the offseason and in the midst of the season itself. Gone are the days of an apparent lethargy to team improvement outside the “draft and develop” approach that had governed the front office’s approach for the better part of the 21st century. There also exists a young core and running plan for the future, as Green Bay balances “win-now” with fielding a competitive team for the long-term.
The Packer organization faced an immense task in hiring for general manager and head coach in the waning years of Rodgers’ career in Green Bay, but so far both hires are meeting the enormous expectations they faced from the outset.
