RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesGREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The decision to keep Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst after a late-season collapse was a matter of choosing continuity over chaos, president and CEO Ed Policy said Monday.
LaFleur, Gutekunst and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball all received contract extensions after the Packers’ 2025 season ended with five straight losses, including a 31-27 road defeat against the Chicago Bears in the NFC wild-card playoff round.
The Packers went 9-8-1 and earned a third straight postseason berth, though they’ve been the NFC’s seventh and final playoff seed each of those seasons. They haven’t won a playoff game the last two years.
“We had 10 head coach openings throughout the league this past offseason, and that caused a tremendous amount of chaos in a lot of other organizations,” Policy said during the annual shareholders meeting of the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise. “I believe that players, and especially quarterbacks, in championship-caliber teams, develop best in an environment of continuity — not chaos.”
Green Bay owned a 9-3-1 record and was leading at Denver in the second half last December when All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that knocked him out for the rest of that season and will delay the start of his 2026 season. The Packers didn’t win again and closed the season by blowing a 21-3 lead at Chicago.
“As we turn the page to 2026, we recognize how close we are to becoming the team we expect to be,” Gutekunst said at the shareholders meeting. “But at the same time, we have no delusions about the areas where we must improve. Finishing games, maintaining our composure at critical moments and consistently playing the best football when it matters most will be essential."
The Packers’ late skid led to speculation regarding the futures of LaFleur and Gutekunst, whose contracts were set to expire after the 2026 season.
Policy had said last year he would prefer not to have them enter a season with only one year left on their contracts because of the issues such a scenario could create, so either a firing or an extension seemed the most likely outcome. Policy opted for the latter.
“I’ve known Russ Ball for 25 years,” Policy said. “I’ve worked with Brian for 14 years. I’ve worked very closely with Matt for the past seven seasons. I’m incredibly confident in them and their ability to put us in position to compete for championships.”
LaFleur has a 76-40-1 regular-season record in seven seasons and led the Packers to the playoffs in all but one of those years. He is 3-6 in the postseason and hasn’t reached the Super Bowl.
“His work with quarterbacks has been exceptional,” Policy said. “That’s obviously a very critical role in our game, but he brought out the very best in Aaron Rodgers winning two consecutive MVPs to developing Jordan Love into a budding star, developing Malik Willis into a very valuable contributor for our team and a very probable starter for the Miami Dolphins.”
The Packers will have some new faces among their coaching staff as they open training camp this week. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was hired as defensive coordinator after Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. New special teams coordinator Cam Achord takes over for Rich Bisaccia, who departed for the same role at Clemson.
During the shareholders meeting, Policy again spoke about long-term strategies the Packers might utilize to remain financially competitive with the NFL franchises that have a more conventional ownership structure. He had outlined that plan Friday while detailing the Packers' annual revenues and expenses.
But there's a limit to how far the Packers will go in that regard. Policy drew the biggest ovation of the day when he reiterated that the team won’t be selling the naming rights to Lambeau Field.
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