Entering his 20th season overall with the Packers, Brian Gutekunst was named the Packers’ 10th general manager in team history on Jan. 8, 2018.

Entering his 20th season overall with the Packers, Brian Gutekunst was named the Packers’ 10th general manager in team history on Jan. 8, 2018.

“We could not be more excited to elevate Brian to the position of general manager,” said team President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy. “He has earned this opportunity throughout his 19 years with the Packers, proving to not only be a skilled talent evaluator, but a trusted and collaborative leader. His time under the direction of former Packers general managers Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson will undoubtedly serve him well as we work toward our next Super Bowl championship. I am confident that he is the man that will help get us there.” 

“First, I’d like to thank my mentor, Ted Thompson, for his friendship, and I am happy that we will continue to have the chance to work together,” Gutekunst said. “I want to thank Ron Wolf for giving me my first opportunity with the Packers, and of course Mark Murphy for the faith and trust he has placed in me moving forward. And finally, I must thank my wife, Jen, and our children for their constant sacrifice and unwavering support despite all of the time I have spent on the road and away from home. I look forward to getting to work with the rest of our talented personnel department and using every avenue available to build the Packers into a championship team again.”   

Gutekunst (GOO-tuh-kunst) wasted no time using every avenue to reshape and strengthen Green Bay’s roster in the first few months of his tenure. First, he added three Pro Bowl free agents to the team: TE Jimmy Graham, DL Muhammad Wilkerson and CB Tramon Williams. Graham, originally a third-round pick in 2010 with New Orleans, has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his career (2011, 2013-14, 2016-17) and was named first-team All-Pro by The Associated Press in 2013. In 2017, he led NFL tight ends with 10 receiving touchdowns while playing for Seattle. Wilkerson joined the Packers after seven seasons with the N.Y. Jets, where he was a first-round selection in 2011. In 2015, he earned a spot in the Pro Bowl after posting a career-best 12 sacks, tied for the sixth most in the NFL that season. Williams, who played for the Packers from 2007-14 and was a 2010 Pro Bowl selection, returned after spending the last three seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2015-16) and Arizona Cardinals (2017). His 32 career interceptions rank tied for No. 6 among active NFL players.

Gutekunst also tapped into the trade market, moving CB Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns for QB Deshone Kizer and a swap of selections in the fourth and fifth rounds of the 2018 draft. The trade immediately bolstered Green Bay’s quarterback depth by adding a talented signal caller entering his second year, while also pushing the Packers’ fourth and fifth-round selections to the top of each round.

Armed with a league-high 12 selections entering the 2018 NFL Draft, Gutekunst remained aggressive. Round one saw him trade the Packers’ selection (No. 14) to New Orleans for the Saints’ first (No. 27), a fifth (No. 147) and a first in 2019. Moments later, Gutekunst traded the No. 27 pick, a third (No. 76) and a sixth (No. 186) to Seattle for their first (No. 18) and a seventh (No. 248). With the 18th selection in the first round, Green Bay selected Louisville CB Jaire Alexander, who played in 31 games with 19 starts during his three seasons with the Cardinals and registered seven interceptions and 22 passes defensed while earning second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition as a sophomore in 2016. In a matter of minutes, Gutekunst added one of the top cover corners to bolster the Packers’ 2018 defense, while also keeping an eye on the future with the acquisition of an additional first-round pick.

In the second round, Gutekunst again fortified the secondary with his selection of Iowa CB Josh Jackson, a consensus first-team All-American in 2017 after leading the nation with eight interceptions. After trading the Packers’ original third-round selection, Gutekunst packaged a fourth (No. 101) and a fifth (No. 147) for a third (No. 88) from Carolina and used the selection on Vanderbilt LB Oren Burks. When the draft concluded, Gutekunst had added 11 players to the Packers’ roster in his inaugural draft class.

Prior to his promotion, Gutekunst served as director of player personnel (2016-17) after spending his first 13 seasons with the club as a college scout. He served as an East Coast regional scout for his first two years (1999-2000), before switching to the Southeast region (2001-11) and then as director of college scouting (2012-15).

Possessor of prior professional scouting and college coaching experience upon joining Green Bay on a full-time basis late in 1998, Gutekunst gained his first NFL experience in the summer of 1995 when he assisted the coaching staff of the New Orleans Saints with the offensive line during training camp. Gutekunst’s initial exposure to the Packers came in the summer of 1997 when he worked as an intern in the team’s scouting department. 

His first full-time appointment in professional scouting was in 1998 as a scouting assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs. After one year with the Chiefs, Gutekunst returned to the Packers when he was named a college scout on Dec. 30, 1998, for the East Coast by Wolf. 

Gutekunst earlier had played two years of college football for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He then became an assistant coach for the team during his final two years at the school (1995-96) after a shoulder injury cut short his playing career. Serving as a linebackers coach during the 1995 season, he helped the school to the Division III national championship as the Eagles finished with an unblemished record of 14-0. Gutekunst majored in sports management. 

He and his wife, Jen, reside in Green Bay with their daughters, Marley, 13, Joie, 12, and Kacey, 7, and son, Michael, 9.