GREEN BAY – General Manager Brian Gutekunst's season-ending news conference took place a couple weeks after it normally does, but he spoke with the media for nearly 40 minutes on Wednesday in the Legends Club at Lambeau Field.
Here are five big-picture things learned from the session:
- The end of the season has been tough to swallow.
Multiple times, Gutekunst referenced losing five straight games to conclude the season. He also lamented being in position to win games the Packers didn't, including of course the NFC Wild Card playoff at Chicago.
He admitted how difficult it has been to process such a rough finish, and losing second-half leads was obviously one common thread.
"Finishing games is certainly something that we've got to concentrate on as we head into the 2026," he said, before specifically referencing the Bears playoff loss again, when a 21-3 halftime lead vanished. "Certainly we played very, very well in the first half and had a lot of things in front of us. And when you get in situations like that, you expect to win the game."
The blame is shared, and one focus of the offseason will be examining from all angles how very winnable games – five times the Packers had multi-score leads in games they didn't win – got away.
"It's all of us, right? It's players, it's coaches, it's everybody," he said. "In certain football situations, we have to be better, and we have to be more consistent.
"For me, there's two things. One, do we have the right people out there that can handle those situations? And then two, are we doing everything to give them the best chance to succeed? We're looking at it from all avenues."
- It's not just about finishing games, but finishing seasons with better football.
The last two seasons, the Packers have been one-and-done in the playoffs, and not entering the playoffs playing particularly well, either.
That's a change from prior years in the tenures of Gutekunst as GM and Matt LaFleur as head coach, and they're looking closely at why the team hasn't peaked for a stretch run.
"In Matt's first five years, we were 25-8 in December and January," Gutekunst said. "I think we're 3-9 the last two years, so we're looking at that from a lot of different angles, to make sure that we're playing our best football in December and January.
"We've got to win the games that matter the most. That was a strength of ours prior to these last couple of years, was how we finished. We were playing our best football at the end of the season. We haven't done that the last two years."
The team's 9-3-1 mark heading to Denver in mid-December had it set up well, and Gutekunst felt the Packers actually hadn't "played particularly great football" up to that point. So there was optimism they could take another step, and while injuries certainly played a role in the slide, there was enough good football despite the injuries to believe the results should've been better.
"I thought we had an opportunity to kind of round into form there in the second half of the season, and obviously it didn't work out that way," Gutekunst said. "I did think there were moments that we played at a very, very high level, championship-football type level, but it wasn't consistent enough. We didn't sustain it.
"As we go into this offseason, we continue to evaluate 2025 before we get on to 2026. It's on the front of our minds."
- He's refusing to chalk up the failures to injuries.
The Packers lost tight end Tucker Kraft in early November and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt on Thanksgiving, plus stalwart right tackle Zach Tom and defensive star Micah Parsons in mid-December.
No one's denying those players couldn't have made a difference down the stretch, but Gutekunst doesn't feel their absence is why the Packers struggled.
"I felt through the end of the season and into the playoffs we had everything we needed to win those football games," he said. "I never felt underhanded at any time going into those games."
That mentality has been forged, in part, by being on the Packers' scouting staff during the team's last Super Bowl run in 2010, when the roster was decimated by injuries and the team still found a way to get hot at the right time.
"I got one ring since I've been doing this, and it was the year that we had more injuries than I think any other, right?" he said. "So, it's nothing against any other teams here, but you never feel like, 'Hey, we can't go win this game,' you know? I fully expected where we were in the middle of the playoff game, to win that game and be heading to Seattle and win that game.
"That's the thing that makes this job, as tough as those moments are, it's what draws us a lot to it, is the competitive nature of it."
- He professed faith in special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and praised his work behind the scenes.
As the Packers' defensive coaching staff gets revamped amidst coordinator Jeff Hafley's departure to Miami as head coach, Gutekunst's comments on Bisaccia indicate no change is forthcoming with the third phase.
"What Rich brings to our culture, this football team, he's a very impactful coach around here," Gutekunst said.
Special teams miscues played a role in the season's tough finish, and Gutekunst noted kicker Brandon McManus had made 32 straight kicks (13 FGs, 19 PATs) before his three misses in the playoff loss. The botched onside kick in the previous game at Chicago was not discussed, nor was the lack of a dynamic return game late in the season. But Gutekunst gave shout-outs to the team's coverage units as well as punter Daniel Whelan and long snapper Matt Orzech as providing stability and a strong foundation.
"I've got a lot of faith in Rich and his staff, what they do around here, not only the X's and O's, what they bring to the field, but what they bring to this place culturally is really important," he said.
- He's grateful for the contract extension that gives him a chance, along with LaFleur, to finish what they've started.
New President and CEO Ed Policy recently extended the contracts of Gutekunst, LaFleur and executive VP/director of football operations Russ Ball, keeping the continuity that's been in place as the Packers have qualified for the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons. That trio has been tasked, and trusted, with getting the team to take the next step.
Of the three, Gutekunst has been here the longest by far, working as a scouting intern back in 1997 and spending all but one year of his career since in Green Bay. He'll be moving forward now without one of his top personnel lieutenants, Jon-Eric Sullivan, who's the new GM in Miami, the type of departure Gutekunst had been prepared for, so he doesn't see it materially disrupting the operation.
"I've been here a long time, worked here a long time, lot of contracts here, and I'm always just exceptionally appreciative of the opportunity to walk in these doors and continue to try to chase what we're chasing," Gutekunst said. "This is a very, very, very special place. It's very, very important to me, and certainly sitting here after five losses, you feel very frustrated where we're at, but very appreciative with the opportunity that Ed's given us."
Gutekunst threw his full support behind LaFleur, too, highlighting a close working relationship with him as well as Ball that has kept the football leadership in sync.
"He's an excellent football coach," Gutekunst said of LaFleur. "To get where we're going, he's the guy we need. I think he's as eager as anybody to get back at it.
"Nobody's really satisfied obviously with how the season ended. We've been through this before, where as soon as the season ends, you want to get started on the next one because you're just not satisfied with where we want to be."
