Matt LaFleur’s extension is a done deal. While nothing has been finalized with general manager Brian Gutekunst, all reports indicate the Green Bay Packers are in the process of ironing out his extension.
A year that started with Super Bowl dreams ended in horrific fashion at the hands of a division rival. Entering a new season with fresh contracts, there’s more pressure on LaFleur than Gutekunst.
Some people have criticized Gutekunst for Green Bay’s inability to hit home runs on first-round picks during his tenure. Matthew Golden may justify his draft position; they didn’t use him much in his rookie season, so it’s too soon to tell. Jordan Morgan may become a premier left tackle but, two years in, he couldn’t even beat out now pending free agent Rasheed Walker for the gig.
On the one hand, the constant successes of being a playoff team leave Gutekunst and the Packers typically picking late in Round 1, which lessens the odds of striking gold. However, he can’t be totally exempt from criticism; Lukas Van Ness was the No. 13-overall pick in 2023 while Rashan Gary was the No. 12-overall pick in 2019. Gary has been good, not great, while Van Ness has only shown glimpses of excellence in two seasons.
Gutekunst deserves credit for his knack for finding starters later in the draft — in some cases, even finding stars.
Tucker Kraft was a third-round pick in 2023 and the seventh tight end off the board. A torn ACL abruptly ended his 2025 campaign, but he’s a clear star in the making. Evan Williams was the second safety Green Bay took in 2024, in Round 4, and he also has all the makings of being a star player. There are several other examples, like finding Zach Tom and Romeo Doubs in Round 4 in 2022 or scooping up Rasheed Walker in the seventh round of that same draft class.
The biggest critique of Gutekunst concerns his hesitancy to take a massive swing. Known by many for being a draft-pick hugger, Gutekunst got comfortable being uncomfortable with the trade for Micah Parsons. In acquiring the All-World player, Gutekunst had to part ways with two first-round picks, plus veteran Kenny Clark.
It was the type of move many thought Gutekunst would never have the stones to make. Whether you liked the trade or not, Gutekunst strayed from his normal procedure to orchestrate it. The Parsons trade immediately boosted the perception — and the actual performance — of Green Bay’s defense.
Going into this year with Keisean Nixon as the No. 1 cornerback and having the position filled out with two cornerbacks in Kamal Hadden and Bo Melton who had never taken a regular-season snap at the position was a mistake. So was signing Aaron Banks to take over at left guard, and thus sliding Elgton Jenkins to center, looked like the wrong move. Nobody is flawless, not even the general manager who landed Parsons in Green Bay.
Still, Gutekunst gets a little more grace for having landed the franchise-star Parsons and putting together a roster that, if healthy, can win it all.
On the flip side is LaFleur, who has similarly done a ton of good things in his seven years as the head coach. Six playoff appearances is nothing to scoff at. He’s also rightfully credited with the development of quarterback Jordan Love and making sure it wasn’t a rebuild after the Aaron Rodgers exit.
But, as with Gutekunst, LaFleur has his shortcomings.
Green Bay has gotten worse at closing games in the last couple of seasons, and LaFleur’s long-standing issues with clock management and game management haven’t subsided. After the playoff loss in Chicago, the pressure on him has significantly intensified.
Make no mistake, some fans would prefer to see Gutekunst gone. Every fanbase has dissenters. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year and, a year later, plenty of Philly supporters want Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts kicked to the curb. When a season ends the way Green Bay’s did, injuries be damned, there is going to be anger.
LaFleur will face more pressure because of the Parsons trade that Gutekunst completed. Not only local writers but also national reporters believe the roster Gutekunst has assembled is Super Bowl-ready. That’s largely because of the way Gutekunst has constructed it. It’s LaFleur’s job and his staff’s to properly utilize it in 2026.
Historical precedent shows that it’s unlikely LaFleur will reach the pinnacle of the sport, as it hasn’t been done in his first seven years. If it’s another early exit in 2026 for the Packers or if they come up short of the playoffs, that seat will get hot for both, but it will be hotter for LaFleur.