Entering his 26th season overall with the Packers and seventh as the team's general manager, Brian Gutekunst was named to his position on Jan. 8, 2018. During his 25 seasons with the club, he has helped the Packers rank No. 2 in the NFL over that span in both playoff appearances (17) and division titles (12), highlighted by six appearances in the NFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl title (XLV).
In Gutekunst's six seasons leading the Packers' personnel department, Green Bay posted 13 wins and captured the NFC North crown in three consecutive seasons (2019-21), the first time in NFL history a team recorded three straight 13-win seasons, while the 39 victories from 2019-21 rank No. 1 in franchise history over a three-season span. The Packers have the top record in the NFC (56-27, .675) since 2019 and are tied for No. 1 in the conference with four playoff appearances over that span.
"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 six seasons constructing the roster, Gutekunst (GOO-tuh-kunst) 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 draft pick as the team's general manager, CB Jaire Alexander, is a two-time AP All-Pro selection (2020, 2022) and also earned Pro Bowl recognition 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, was named a Pro Bowl alternate in both 2021 and 2023 and was one of only two linebackers in the NFL (T.J. Watt) to post 25-plus sacks (29½), 70-plus QB hits (73), five-plus forced fumbles (five) and five-plus fumble recoveries (five) from 2020-23.
While the draft remains the most important avenue in building the roster, Gutekunst's free-agent signings and other roster moves have been extremely effective in strengthening the Packers. This was again evident in his March 2022 signing of CB/KR Keisean Nixon, who earned first-team AP All-Pro honors at kick returner each of the last two seasons, the first Packer to earn All-Pro recognition since the position was added in 1976. Nixon posted a league-high 782 yards on kickoff returns in 2023, becoming just the second player in team history to lead the NFL in kickoff return yards in back-to-back seasons (Al Carmichael, 1956-57). 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 in 2021, signing him off the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad in October. Douglas went on to appear in 12 games with nine starts for the Packers in '21, 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.
In 2023, the Packers made the postseason for the fourth time in five years, the first time in franchise history that Green Bay secured a playoff berth after starting the season with three or fewer wins in its first nine games. With a weighted age of 25.58, the Packers were the youngest NFL team to make the playoffs since the 1974 Buffalo Bills (25.56) and became the youngest NFL team to win a postseason game since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger with their 48-32 win at the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC Wild Card contest. Green Bay's rookie class combined to appear in 206 regular-season games in 2023, the most in a season in team history and the most by any NFL team last season. Of the 53 players on the Packers' roster during the postseason, 51 of them had been acquired by Gutekunst.
In April 2023, Gutekunst traded QB Aaron Rodgers, a four-time MVP with Green Bay, to the N.Y. Jets along with the Packers' first-round selection (No. 15 overall) and a fifth-round pick (No. 170) in 2023 for the Jets' first-round pick (No. 13), their second-round pick (No. 42) and a sixth-round pick (No. 207) in 2023 and a conditional pick (second-round selection in 2024). With the No. 13 pick, Gutekunst selected LB Lukas Van Ness, who played in all 17 games in 2023 and posted four sacks and eight tackles for a loss (tied for No. 2 on the team), the first rookie to hit those marks for Green Bay since LB Clay Matthews in 2009. With the No. 42 selection, Gutekunst drafted TE Luke Musgrave, who tied the franchise rookie record for tight ends last season with 34 catches despite missing six games due to injury. After trading back twice in the second round, Gutekunst added WR Jayden Reed with the No. 50 overall pick, who set the single-season team rookie record with 64 catches in 2023 and became the first rookie in NFL history to post 100-plus rushing yards, multiple rushing TDs, 60-plus receptions, 750-plus receiving yards and eight-plus receiving TDs in a season.
Musgrave and Reed were joined in 2023 by WR Dontayvion Wicks (fifth round, No. 159 overall) and TE Tucker Kraft (third round, No. 78 overall) as they became the first rookie foursome in the NFL to each register 30-plus catches in a season since the 1970 merger. Green Bay's rookie class combined for 191 receptions and 2,250 receiving yards in 2023, the most in both categories by any NFL team's rookie class since the merger. Six members of the Packers' 2023 draft class went on to start four-plus games last season, with 10 of the 13 picks appearing in 10-plus contests.
The Rodgers trade marked the second consecutive offseason that Gutekunst traded an All-Pro player, with WR Davante Adams being dealt to the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2023 for their first- (No. 22 overall) and second-round (No. 53 overall) picks. Gutekunst used the No. 22 pick on LB Quay Walker, who earned All-Rookie honors from the PFWA in 2022 and led the team in tackles each of the last two seasons. 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. 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). Watson became only the third player in franchise history to that point (Johnny "Blood" McNally, 1931; Don Hutson, 1941) to post seven-plus receiving TDs and multiple rushing TDs in a season and was 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 select CB Eric Stokes (No. 29 overall) in the first round, who played in 16 games with 14 starts and led the team with 14 passes defensed as a rookie. In the second round, Gutekunst drafted C/G Josh Myers, one of only two offensive linemen to start every game for Green Bay over the last two seasons. Four members of the Packers' 2021 draft class have gone on to appear in 40-plus games in a Green Bay uniform.
For the third straight year, Gutekunst made a first-round trade in 2020, sending the No. 30 pick and a fourth-round choice (No. 136) to the Miami Dolphins for the No. 26 pick, which he used on QB Jordan Love, who in 2023 became just the third QB in NFL history to post 4,000-plus passing yards (4,159) and 32-plus passing TDs (32) in his first season with multiple starts as he joined Kurt Warner (1999) and Patrick Mahomes (2018). Love was one of four QBs to rank in the top 10 in the league in passing TDs (No. 2), passing yards (No. 7) and TD/INT ratio (No. 7, 2.91) in 2023, and he threw for multiple TD passes and no INTs in a league-high nine games on his way to becoming the first Green Bay QB (since 1950) to help lead the Packers to the postseason in his first year as a starter.
In the second round in 2020, Gutekunst fortified the Packers' backfield with the selection of RB AJ Dillon, who rushed for 600-plus yards in each of the last three seasons. G Jon Runyan, a sixth-round pick, was the only Packers rookie to appear in every game in 2020 and started 50 contests in 2021-23, 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 and the first tandem in team history (since 1982) to both register 12-plus sacks in the same season. Amos was the only Packer to start every game from 2019-22 and posted 80-plus tackles 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, and 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 S Darnell Savage. Savage started all 14 games in 2019 and ranked No. 2 on the team with two INTs on his way to earning PFWA All-Rookie honors. Gutekunst selected Jenkins in the second round, who became only the second Packers guard to be named to the PFWA All-Rookie team (since 1974). 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 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 traded the Packers' first-round 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 played two years of college football for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and 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 win the Division III national title 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, 19, Joie, 18, and Kacey, 13, and son, Michael, 15.
