The general manager of the Green Bay Packers is always one of the most polarizing figures among fans, regardless of who it is. It comes with the job, especially with a team with the rich history and high expectations of the Packers. No matter who the general manager has been, their decisions (even the ones that worked) were often met with criticism and calls for him to lose his job.

Of course, that has been true for Brian Gutekunst since he first took the job. Fans were not happy that he drafted Rashan Gary in 2019, and many were certainly not pleased that he drafted Jordan Love in 2020 (and AJ Dillon right after him).

Gutekunst was also the one who made the decision that it was time to move on from future Hall of Famer and four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. Now that his quarterback, Love, is taking over, one Packers insider suggests that Gutekunst’s job security is at risk this season.

Rob Demovsky Suggests Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst Is on the Hot Seat

The talented team of writers at ESPN compiled their NFL power rankings. For each team, the beat writer assigned to them also named the coach, staffer, or player that they believed was on the hot seat in 2023. Rob Demovsky, who covers the Packers, wrote the following:

On the hot seat: GM Brian Gutekunst

“Gutekunst drafted Jordan Love and is the one who decided it was time to move on from Rodgers. The Packers don’t have to make the playoffs — or even have a winning record this season — for Gutekunst to be vindicated, but Love must show enough promise to indicate the decision to start over at quarterback was the right one.

“If he doesn’t, then Gutekunst will have to find another option at quarterback. He might get a second shot at getting the right quarterback, but who knows if he’d get a third?”

The Packers, by the way, are ranked 20th in the poll.

One certainly has to see the truth in what Demovsky is saying. Picking a franchise quarterback is one of the most important decisions a general manager will make in their entire career. Often, they only get one or two shots at it.

The flipside of this is that [when] Jordan Love succeeds, Gutekunst will look like a genius. And [when] the Packers win a Super Bowl with Love under center, Gutekunst will have cemented his legacy.

But there is a lot that needs to happen before that. Love has to prove that he was worth trading up for in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He has to prove he was worth all the drama. But not just for himself; for Gutekunst, too.

It was the same way for Ted Thompson when he decided to trade for Brett Favre in favor of Rodgers. His legacy, his job, depended on Rodgers being successful. And boy was he ever!

Let’s hope Love has similar success for Gutekunst.

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