I‘ve never hidden my admiration for Seahawks general manager John Schneider. That’s why I wanted Mark Murphy to do everything humanely possible to bring the Wisconsin native home after Ted Thompson was relieved of his duties in 2018. I’ve also never hidden my disregard for Brian Gutekunst. That’s why I opined in the spring of 2020 that he’d run the Packers into the ground by 2025. (The way things are looking, that extremely harsh assessment might’ve been too kind).
What I’ve always respected about Schneider is his willingness to take risks. In that way, he’s a lot like his mentor, Ron Wolf. And while some of his bold moves haven’t worked out – trading two first-round picks to the Jets for safety Jamal Adams is one example – he’s always looking for an opportunity to make his team better, to make his team capable of winning the Super Bowl. But Schneider is also a realist, and that’s why he traded quarterback Russell Wilson in the offseason.
The Wilson trade gave Schneider the ability to start rebuilding a roster that had maxed out and was no longer capable of getting to the Super Bowl. With all the players, draft picks, and cap space he accumulated for an aging player who had shown signs of slipping, he was able to quickly retool the roster. The Seahawks are currently 4-3 and leading their division, and they’re doing it with journeyman Geno Smith at quarterback. The future is suddenly looking very bright in Seattle.
The future is looking anything but bright in Green Bay, where the Packers are 3-4 and in serious danger of missing the playoffs for only the eighth time since 1993. That’s obviously not what Gutekunst had in mind when, unlike Schneider, he spurned offers for his own superstar quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) in the offseason. The truth is, general managers have to be like professional gamblers – they have to “know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” Unfortunately, Gutekunst thought he had a royal flush; in reality, he had a 2-7 offsuit.
Gutekunst, who also learned under Wolf, is the polar opposite of Schneider when it comes to taking risks. Aside from dealing All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams to the Raiders – which he was forced into doing – his biggest trade came in March 2018 when he sent one disappointment (corner Damarious Randall) to Cleveland for another disappointment (quarterback DeShone Kizer). The easiest way to avoid criticism is to play it safe, but it’s difficult to win a Super Bowl that way. If Gutekunst were half as bold as Schneider, he would’ve made a significant deadline trade in either of the past two seasons. Instead, he did nothing and watched as more aggressive teams passed Green Bay by when it really mattered.
All general managers make mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Schneider hasn’t drafted significantly better than Gutekunst, especially in recent years. But what separates the best from the rest is a willingness to take chances. Wolf wouldn’t be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he didn’t have the guts to trade a first-round pick for Brett Favre in 1992. Schneider wouldn’t have won it all in 2013 if he didn’t commit to Wilson as his quarterback a year earlier, even though he had just signed free agent Matt Flynn to a big contract. And Thompson, who was far from bold, wouldn’t have seen the confetti in 2010 if he didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to move on from the still popular Favre in the tumultuous summer of 2008.
Gutekunst’s play-it-safe style has won a lot of regular season games with a generational quarterback inherited from Thompson. What it hasn’t done is get the Packers to the Super Bowl, and that window – which was always open just a crack – looks to have finally closed. Armed with a new long-term contract, maybe Gutekunst will finally start showing some guts. Quoting the legendary Kenny Rogers again, “if you’re gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right.”
[yop_poll id=”70″]
It amazes me how year after year the status quo was the standard, despite the fact that we could never advance through the playoffs. Damn. What a waste of a Super Bowl caliber team for years.
Gute is an ass–clown and needs to be shown the door. Of course gap-tooth needs to be sent packing as well. This current situation is an abomination and should not be allowed to occur. Lafleur is not a great coach and seems to have lost the roster. There’s issues everywhere one takes the time to look. It’s just unforgivable. Sad state of affairs. Hopefully I’m proven wrong but it doesn’t look positive.
I was neutral on Gutekunst until recently, but there’s no way to still believe in him after the mess he’s made at wide receiver. It was obvious going into training camp that there wasn’t enough talent at the position. I kept waiting for him to make a trade, and nothing happened. Then the offense laid an egg in the opening game and Watkins got hurt, so I figured now Gutekunst would have to do something. Again, nothing.
This season is really unfortunate. If LaFleur hired a good DC and Gutekunst handled the WR position properly, the Packers would be in a great position to get to the Super Bowl considering how weak the NFC is. Instead, we’re looking at 3-5 after Sunday and possibly losing 10 games.
The Jordan Love pick was a huge risk not to mention highly unpopular. Gino Smith, like Cooper Rush in Dallas, have had nice runs. That doesn’t make either QB the long term answer. The Jamal Adams trade was a stupid move. You don’t trade two number ones for a safety. Pick any draft and Brian Gutekunst has out drafted John Schneider. I am no Aaron Rodgers fanboy. I’ve been saying trade him for years. After winning back to back MVP awards I understand why they kept Rodgers. The fan base would have tarred and feathered Gutekunst had he traded him. And it wasn’t just his decision. It was Rodgers who decided to stay. Just like it was Davante Adams decision to leave. Had Russell Wilson won back to back MVP awards he’d still be in Seattle. Look, we were never winning a SB with Rodgers anyway. We’re just facing reality now rather than January. This is actually a good thing. We bench Rodgers, take a long look at Jordan Love and if he’s not the answer then use our top 10 pick on a QB and we’re back in business. It’s not the end of the world and it isn’t a return to the 70’s or 80’s either.
I’d trade Gutekunst for Schneider in a heartbeat, and I’d throw in Love, Savage, and Amari to sweeten the deal.
Only if Seattle throws in Rashaad Penny, LJ Collier, Jordyn Brooks, and D’Wayne Eskwridge. Now there’s some fine drafting! That’s the kind of drafting that would make John Dorsey blush! Dorsey, Micheal’s other preferred GM candidate, drafted Baker Mayfield over Josh Allen, hired Freddie Kitchens as HC, and traded a first round pick for OBJ. You can say that Schneider or even Dorsey is better than Gutekunst. The body of their work says otherwise.
Schneider had nine winning seasons in a row and went to two Super Bowls. I’d say that body of work is a lot better than what Gutekunst has done, and Schneider wasn’t handed an all-time great QB. As for Dorsey, I’ll bet his drafting of Baker Mayfield will look like a stroke of genius compared to Gutekunst’s drafting of Jordan Love.
The good news for Gutekunst is that his good friend Schneider might hire him in Seattle after he’s fired by the Packers.
Let’s compare both GM’s from 2018 on Christopher. 2018 being Brian Gutekunst’s first draft as GM. Show me Schneider’s draft equivalent to Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, and Eric Stokes. Show me Schneider’s FA signings like the Smiths, Amos, Turner, and Campbell that contributed greatly to 39 wins in three seasons. Show me Schneider’s practice squad finds like Lazard and Douglas. Show me Schneider’s developmental starter at RT in Yoshi Nijman. In 2018 John Schneider had the 18th pick in the 2018 draft. Instead of drafting Jaire Alexander he traded the pick to Gutekunst so he could draft Alexander while Schneider took Rashaan Penny. There’s no way to spin that one. Then Schneider foolishly gives up two first round picks for a safety the following year. A move out of desperation that backfired. Brian Gutekunst took a team that was 5-9-1 and proceeded to win 39 games over the next three years. That doesn’t happen just because you’ve got Aaron Rodgers. As for Dorsey, he had the number one overall pick in the draft. He had the pick of the litter among QB’s and he got it wrong. He got the coach wrong and he got the WR wrong. He’s had two GM jobs and he lasted no more than 3 years at each stop. He was a terrible GM. I can think of only one player John Schneider has drafted or signed in the last four years that I’d like to have and that’s DK Metcalf and he’s a nut job. I’d be very reluctant to give him a big contract. Since DC Dan Quinn and the “legion of boom” left the building, Russell Wilson has been carrying that team because the drafting has been so bad. It was sheer luck they traded Wilson when they did and not because of some great strategy. Look, I’ve got nothing against John Schneider. A local boy made good. But to say he’s better than Brian Gutekunst just doesn’t hold up.
Hey guys, don’t feed the troll.
Sure Michael. If John Schneider were our GM, Aaron would have three more rings by now. Everyone feel better?
This Tom guy is a piece of work. ?
John Schneider built a team that went to two Super Bowls and won one (should’ve been two). I don’t care about anything else, until Gutekunst does the same, this isn’t a debate.
Sam, I would say the GM comparison of John Schneider to Ted Thompson is more accurate than John Schneider to Brian Gutekunst. With Gutekunst you have a limited sample size of 4 years. John Schneider, like Ted Thompson did his best work early on as GM. And like Ted’s drafts towards the end, Schneider’s have not been good. To his credit, this year’s draft shows promise. But if you look at the window from 2018 to 2021 Brian Gutekunst is clearly the better GM. The facts bear that out regardless if you call me a troll or not. One more point about Brian Gutekunst. He won’t lose his job because Aaron Rodgers now plays to his age. He will however lose his job if he doesn’t find the next franchise QB. That needs to be his focus not gutting his roster to find players to pad Aaron Rodgers stats. Those days are long gone. This is why you draft a Jordan Love when your franchise QB is on the wrong side of 35. The question isn’t IF your QB falls off a cliff but WHEN your QB falls off a cliff. Aaron Rodgers has fallen off the cliff. Just like Brady, Wilson, and Matt Ryan. Then end comes to everyone…