Report: Green Bay Packers hire Brian Gutekunst as new GM
GREEN BAY -- Ian Rapoport, National Insider for NFL Network and NFL.com, tweeted on Sunday, January 7th Green Bay Packers are hiring Brian Gutekunst as their GM.
According to Rapoport, Gutekunst, who worked as a director of player personnel in Green Bay under Ted Thompson for the last six seasons, signed a 5-year deal.
The team has made no formal announcement.
Gutekunst would replace Thompson, who is transitioning to a senior advisory role in the front office.
Gutekunst has been Green Bay's player personnel director for nearly 2 years, though he has been with the Packers' player personnel department for nearly 2 decades.
Below is some additional information about Gutekunst according to Packers.com:
"Promoted to director of player personnel on March 21, 2016, Brian Gutekunst enters his 19th season with the Green Bay Packers’ player personnel department. He spent his first 13 seasons with the club as a college scout, serving as an East Coast regional scout for his first two years (1999-2000), before switching to the Southeast region (2001-11) and most recently serving 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 then-Executive Vice President/General Manager Ron 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, 12, Joie, 11, and Kacey, 6, and son, Michael, 8."
The Packers (7-9) finished with a losing record and out of the playoffs for the first time since 2008.