Entering his 25th season overall with the Packers and sixth as the team's general manager, Brian Gutekunst was named to his position on Jan. 8, 2018. During his time with the club, he has helped lead the Packers to 16 playoff appearances, 12 division titles, six appearances in the NFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl title (XLV).
In his five seasons leading the Packers' personnel department, Gutekunst (GOO-tuh-kunst) has maintained an aggressive approach to building the roster, leading to immediate results. For three consecutive seasons (2019-21), Green Bay posted 13 wins and captured the NFC North crown while also earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC in back-to-back seasons (2020-21). It marked the first time in NFL history a team recorded three consecutive 13-win seasons and the 39 wins from 2019-21 are the most in franchise history over a three-season span. The Packers have the top record in the NFC (47-19, .712) since 2019, and were the only NFC team and one of only four NFL teams to make the playoffs each season from 2019 to 2021.
"We could not be more excited to elevate Brian to the position of general manager," said team President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy at the time of Gutekunst's promotion. "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."
Over his first five seasons constructing the roster, Gutekunst acquired 13 players who earned All-Pro honors from The Associated Press, were named to the Pro Bowl or selected as alternates, or were named to the PFWA All-Rookie team. His first pick as the team's general manager, CB Jaire Alexander, is a two-time AP All-Pro selection (2020, 2022) and also was named to the Pro Bowl in both of those seasons. He joined Charles Woodson (four) and Herb Adderley (seven) as the only Packers cornerbacks to be named to multiple AP All-Pro teams. Drafted by Gutekunst in 2019, G/T Elgton Jenkins was named to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2022 and also garnered All-Rookie honors in '19. LB Rashan Gary, a first-round selection by Gutekunst in 2019, ranked No. 3 in the NFL among linebackers in 2020-21 in QB hits (39), No. 6 in pressures (84) and No. 8 in sacks (14½) and was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 2021.
While the draft will remain the most important avenue with which Gutekunst builds the roster, his free-agent signings and other roster maneuvers have been extremely effective in strengthening the Packers. This was again evident in 2022 as his March signing of CB/KR Keisean Nixon helped lead a resurgence of Green Bay's special teams. Nixon posted a league-best 1,009 yards on kickoff returns and earned first-team All-Pro honors last season, becoming the first Packers kick returner to earn a spot on the AP All-Pro team since it added the position in 1976. In June 2021, Gutekunst added LB De'Vondre Campbell, who went on to earn first-team All-Pro honors in his first season in Green Bay, the first Packers inside LB to earn first-team AP All-Pro recognition since Ray Nitschke in 1966. Gutekunst also added fifth-year CB Rasul Douglas during the 2021 season, signing him off the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad in October. Douglas went on to appear in 12 games with nine starts for the Packers, posting a team-high five INTs and two INT TDs (tied for No. 1 in the NFL) on his way to being named a Pro Bowl alternate.
Following a trade that sent WR Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for their first (No. 22 overall) and second-round (No. 53 overall) picks, Gutekunst entered the 2022 NFL Draft with 11 selections. He used the No. 22 overall pick on LB Quay Walker, who earned All-Rookie honors from the PFWA last season after leading the team in tackles (119) and forced fumbles (three). On the second day of the draft, Gutekunst packaged two second-round selections (Nos. 53 and 59 overall) in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for the No. 34 overall pick, which he used to select WR Christian Watson from North Dakota State. Watson produced one of the most impressive rookie campaigns by a WR in team history, tying for No. 1 in the NFL among rookies in 2022 in TD catches (seven) and ranking No. 5 among rookies in receiving yards (611). His seven TD receptions rank No. 3 in team history among rookies behind only Billy Howton (13 in 1952) and Max McGee (nine in 1954). Additionally, Watson became only the third player in franchise history (Johnny "Blood" McNally, 1931; Don Hutson, 1941) to post seven-plus receiving TDs and multiple rushing TDs in a season and just the second NFL rookie WR to accomplish that feat (Chase Claypool, 2020). Watson joined WR Romeo Doubs, one of two fourth-round picks by Gutekunst in 2022, to become only the third rookie WR duo in NFL history to each have 40-plus catches and three-plus receiving TDs. Seven members of the Packers' 11-man draft class went on to start multiple games for the team in 2022, combining for 48 starts between them, the most by a Green Bay draft class since 2006 (66).
Gutekunst's fourth draft in 2021 saw him make nine selections as he infused the roster with talent from major-college programs and addressed several needs. With the No. 29 pick in the first round, the Packers selected CB Eric Stokes from the University of Georgia, who played in 16 games with 14 starts as a rookie and registered 55 tackles (43 solo), a team-high 14 passes defensed (tied for No. 11 in the NFL) and an INT. In the second round, Gutekunst turned to offense and selected C/G Josh Myers from Ohio State, one of only two offensive linemen to start every game for Green Bay last season. Seven of the nine members of the 2021 class appeared in 20-plus games for the Packers over the past two seasons, with three of them (Stokes, 25; Myers, 23; G/T Royce Newman, 22) starting at least 20 contests.
For the third time in as many drafts, Gutekunst made a first-round trade in 2020, swapping pick No. 30 and a fourth-round selection (No. 136) for the Miami Dolphins' pick at No. 26, and used that selection on Utah State QB Jordan Love, who enters the 2023 season as the Packers' starting quarterback. In the second round, Gutekunst fortified the Packers' backfield with the selection of Boston College RB AJ Dillon, one of only two running backs in the league (Steelers RB Najee Harris) to rush for 750-plus yards and play in all 17 games each of the last two seasons (2021-22). G Jon Runyan (sixth round, Michigan) was the only Packers rookie to appear in every game in 2020 and has started 33 contests over the last two seasons, the most among Green Bay offensive linemen over that span.
In his second offseason managing the Packers' roster in 2019, Gutekunst secured one the most successful free-agent classes in team history, signing four marquee players and immediate starters in LBs Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith, S Adrian Amos and G/T Billy Turner. The group proved instrumental in the Packers' run to three consecutive NFC North division titles and back-to-back appearances in the NFC title game following the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Preston Smith, who came to Green Bay after four seasons (2015-18) with Washington, was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 2019 after ranking No. 8 in the NFL with a career-best 12 sacks and finishing No. 2 on the team with 29 QB hits and 43 QB pressures. He was again named a Pro Bowl alternate following the 2022 season. Za'Darius Smith, who was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, made his first career Pro Bowl in 2019 as an injury replacement and was again named to the Pro Bowl in 2020 while also earning second-team AP All-Pro honors. His 26 sacks from 2019-20 are the most ever by a Packer in his first two seasons with the team. Additionally, the Smiths became the first duo in NFL history to both register 12-plus sacks in their first season as teammates, the first tandem in team history (since 1982) to both register 12-plus sacks in the same season and only the second duo in Packers history (since 1982) to each have 10-plus sacks in a season (DE Reggie White with 13 and LB Bryce Paup with 11 in 1993). Amos was the only Packer to start every game from 2019-22 and posted 80-plus tackles and five-plus passes defensed in each of those seasons.
Gutekunst entered the 2019 NFL Draft with 10 picks, including two first-round selections, and for the second consecutive draft maneuvered in the first round to get a player he wanted. At No. 12 overall, Gutekunst selected Gary out of the University of Michigan. Gutekunst then packaged the No. 30 pick with a pair of fourth-round selections in a trade with Seattle for the No. 21 overall pick that he used on University of Maryland S Darnell Savage. Savage started all 14 games he appeared in during the 2019 season and ranked No. 2 on the team with two INTs on his way to earning PFWA All-Rookie honors. In the second round, Gutekunst selected Jenkins out of Mississippi State, who played in all 16 games and started the final 14 contests of the season at left guard as a rookie in 2019. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie team, only the second Packers guard to be selected since 1974 (Daryn Colledge, 2006). Jenkins put together an even more impressive second campaign in 2020 as he started all 16 games, opening 12 at LG, three at C and one at RT en route to his first Pro Bowl selection. He became just the third offensive lineman in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl within his first two seasons in the NFL (Deral Teteak, 1952 as a rookie; Charley Brock, 1940 in his second season). Jenkins saw action at four different spots on the line in 2020 (LT, LG, C, RT) and became the first Green Bay offensive lineman to start games at guard, center and tackle in the same season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Returning from a season-ending knee injury in 2021, he was selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2022 season.
Armed with a league-high 12 selections entering the 2018 NFL Draft, Gutekunst was active. The first round saw him trade the Packers' selection (No. 14) to New Orleans for the Saints' first-round pick (No. 27) and a fifth (No. 147) in 2018, 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 No. 18 choice in the first round, Green Bay selected Alexander out of Louisville. Alexander was named to the PFWA All-Rookie team, becoming just the second Packers CB to be honored since 1974 (Casey Hayward, 2012). A pair of wide receivers, fifth-round pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling (38 receptions, 15.3 avg.) and sixth-rounder Equanimeous St. Brown (21 receptions, 15.6 avg.) became the first rookie duo in team history to each register 20-plus catches with an average of 15-plus yards per reception.
Prior to his promotion, Gutekunst served as Green Bay's director of player personnel (2016-17) and director of college scouting (2012-15) 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).
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 for the East Coast by Wolf on Dec. 30, 1998.
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 has a degree in sports management.
He and his wife, Jen, reside in Hobart with their daughters, Marley, 18, Joie, 17, and Kacey, 12, and son, Michael, 14.
