Inbox: He does build this team in all ways

Markus from Aurora, CO

And the coaching carousel continues ... poaching and dealing ... I'll just sit back and wait until it is all sorted out ...

All we can do. But no more waiting for Saturday Insider Inbox columns. This is the last one until training camp.

Mark from West Bend, WI

Mike, the Vikings fire their GM AND the NFL announced it is considering reviewing player safety penalties via replay on the same day. How can such news break when you're in town?!

Probably because neither is specifically Packers-related.

Dave from Howard, WI

I see the NFL is considering replay for missed player safety penalties. What a novel idea. Maybe they are avid readers of II?

Or they're just getting around to some really old versions of this column.

Daniel from Chillicothe, MO

I guess we were waiting to announce our extensions for HC, GM, and cap wizard to coincide with the Vikings announcing the termination of their GM! I like the answers you guys have provided on why Darnold may not have wanted to stay in MINN, but what is your reaction from the GM side? It seems like the brass thinks he should have done anything and everything to keep Darnold, who's playing in the Super Bowl next weekend.

GMs can't botch QB decisions in this league. It's the unforgiveable sin. The timing of the move is certainly surprising, right as Senior Bowl week concluded, with the Vikings saying they won't conduct a full-on search for a new GM until after the draft. Due to his own moves, the dismissed GM had only five draft picks last year. But this year Minnesota is going in with 11, including four in the top 100, which heightens its importance to the franchise. While ownership obviously decided whom they don't want making those picks, it's going to saddle the next GM with an interim's choices. It's all very curious.

Jonathan from Sierra Vista, AZ

Eagles hiring Sean Mannion as their OC, I didn't see coming. Did you?

No, but only because Mannion hasn't been coaching that long. He flew up the ladder. Kudos to him and I wish Sean the best. He's a really bright, personable guy. Unfortunately, I think the Packers just lost a rising star in the coaching fraternity.

Don from Boise, ID

Now that Hafley has moved on and Gannon has taken over as DC we are seeing, major/extensive personnel changes ripple through our defensive coaching contingent. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Do we want, need, some consistency or is a clean house better? What is your view?

There's something to be said for continuity. There's also something to be said for new, fresh ideas. Coaching turnover with successful teams is part of the business, and staying successful means dealing with it and adapting. When a successful team has fallen short of goals and expectations, too much continuity can lead to stagnation.

Doug from Odell, IL

With the large change in coaches, would you call the 2026 season a rebuild year?

Unequivocally no.

Tommy from Washburn, WI

Read an interesting article from PFHOF voter Vahe Gregorian on why he voted for the seniors as opposed to BB. Seems like the root of the problem is the backlog of eligible seniors. Why is there a limit on yearly inductions at all? Why not just do a large class of senior inductees?

They did that with the "Centennial class" a handful of years ago, but a significant backlog remains. I think the Hall did this to itself with the current modern-era process, which I believe is structured so a minimum of three inductees are enshrined each year (plus one minimum from the senior/coach/contributor group). With hosting the Hall of Fame game annually, Canton can't not have a ceremony, nor induct just one or two individuals who won't draw a crowd. (By contrast, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has inducted two, one or zero players nine times since the turn of the century). Perhaps due to that minimum, many guys getting in through the modern-era process have prompted, comparatively speaking, a huge pile of older cases to be revisited as senior nominees, hence the current backlog despite the big Centennial class.

Justin from Thousand Oaks, CA

At the risk of doing math in the Inbox, the current SCC HOF format seems almost doomed to end up with one entrant per year. If five candidates get roughly equal votes, that's one in because no one crosses 80% (maybe what happened with Sharpe). If one is unanimous and the others split, that's one in. If Belichick got close, 38 or 39 votes, it will be near-impossible for two others to get in without a two-man landslide. I'm no mathematician and MRCBW but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with one again.

Seems where it's headed, and yes, that's precisely what happened with Sharpe. None of the SCCs got 80% last year and he had the most votes.

Kim from Omaha, NE

Fun article on Daniel Whelan. Great to hear him getting the respect he deserves. I especially enjoyed the variety of stats kept on punts (hang time, punts inside the 20, etc.) as I think it's unfair to judge a punter strictly by yardage. The best punt in any situation is one that pins the opponent deep, but the actual yardage to do that changes with the field position from which you're punting.

A stat I'm surprised doesn't get more attention is the ratio of punts inside the 20 vs. touchbacks. Over three seasons, Whelan has placed 58 inside the 20 against just 18 touchbacks, better than 3-to-1. I don't know what constitutes "great" in that area, but that seems pretty good.

Clipton from Pasadena, CA

Compensatory picks for lost free agents is based in part on the value of the FA's new contract, but is the formula fixed or adjusted for position? For example, if Malik Willis signs for $20 million and Romeo Doubs the same do we get a higher comp pick for Doubs because receivers make less than QBs so he's deemed a more valuable player and thus worth a higher pick?

No. It's based on contract value regardless of position.

Jim from St. Pete Beach, FL

Hi! I agree on cornerback being an area of need. However, our (lack of) success in the running game this season has me worried about our O-line. I realize there were injuries and a lot of shuffling, but how do you feel about our likely starting five for 2026?

I'm confident when it all shakes out the Packers will put together a solid starting five. The depth of the group is where the larger questions arise.

Ryan from Centre Hall, PA

I agree, the defense is not far off. Regarding the DL, this assumes the development of Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse into more consistent impact players. Clearly the hope is that this comes to fruition, and I'm not suggesting it won't, but I think with the trade of Kenny Clark this has become a very important contingency. I think GB has a very tough decision between addressing the CB room and finding depth at DL in the draft, especially with Devonte Wyatt becoming a UFA after next year.

As well as Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks in the final year of their rookie deals.

Troy from Menomonee Falls, WI

In addition to concerns at some defense positions, it seems like RB could be a big one next year. It's a key part of ML's plans and not something to ignore. Unfortunately, it's probably the least durable position and their presumably best two candidates (Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd) have been dogged with injuries. Jacobs is also aging. Maybe Lloyd will emerge as a really good RB, but that looks less certain with each new injury. It's hard not seeing the Packers drafting at least one RB.

The decision the Packers make with Emanuel Wilson as a restricted free agent will determine the acuteness of need.

Ted from Findlay, OH

I read an article that said that you can judge a team's depth by the play of their special teams. My corollary is that you can judge the health of a team by the play of their special teams. When starters are hurt the first well you go to is special teams, depleting their personnel. Reasonable?

Reasonably.

Kenneth from Lakeland, FL

With the recent discussions about GMs with ties to the Packers, I want to add another name that was not listed – Mike Reinfeldt, formerly with the Tennessee Titans as GM from 2007-11. I believe he was a very close friend with Ted Thompson.

Good memory. Reinfeldt and Thompson were roommates when they played for the Houston Oilers, and Reinfeldt was a captain on the last football team UW-Milwaukee fielded in 1974. I didn't include him in my GM list because I didn't know him. He left Green Bay long before I got here. Another GM from the Wolf tree is Scot McCloughan, whom I didn't know either.

Dave from Waterford, OH

In one man's humble opinion, this is what I have observed over the years with the Packers. Yes, we're competitive every year because of the draft-and-develop philosophy. But, we also have to hope that those various draft picks develop to their full, or near full, potential all at about the same time in order to get that Lombardi. But, if you look at the teams that are remaining in the hunt, almost every year, those teams build in all ways. They go get those guys to make that high-level team!

Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, Micah Parsons, Keisean Nixon, Malik Willis, Bo Melton. None drafted by Green Bay. I realize the early returns on Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs this past year weren't ideal due to injuries, but for the umpteenth time, Gutekunst is not Thompson. He does build this team in all ways, but the cap mandates the core philosophy: draft-and-develop.

Dan from Grayslake, IL

Mike, what is your reaction to the Brewers trading Freddy Peralta to the Mets for prospects? I was surprised considering he seemed to be the glue to the pitching staff the past several years.

I wasn't surprised but I was disappointed. Unlike other top Brewers pitchers who were in line for larger arbitration salaries before hitting free agency (Hader, Burnes, Williams), Peralta was under contract for one more year at $8M. That's below dirt cheap, practically pennies, for a 17-game winner and Cy Young contender. I would've thought a budget-conscious team like Milwaukee would consider one more year at just $8M way more valuable than any prospects they could get for Peralta. Wishful thinking, I guess. Plus, I'm getting tired of these deals not bearing much fruit. One of the prospects from the Hader trade turned into Contreras, which was huge. But the jury is still out on Hall and Gasser, while Durbin looks decent, Ortiz backslid, and they got nothing out of Cortes. Maybe Jett or Sproat becomes the next All-Star, that would be great. But for $8M, I was hoping they'd keep Peralta to make another run at the Dodgers. Sorry, too much baseball for most readers of this column, but thanks for indulging.

Eric from Fuquay Varina, NC

My brother and I were always huge "Cheers" fans and now joke you could never make that show arguing about trivia in this age of Google and smartphones. So it's nice to see the II continues to address topics that elicit a banter and differences of opinion that Google (and AI) can't answer. As Woody said when he read the old constitution, we all have the right to Life, Liberty and the "Purfuit of Happineff."

Have a great weekend, everybody.

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