‘He makes this whole thing go’: Packers GM determined to keep Aaron Rodgers on board for another Super Bowl run – USA TODAY

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brian Gutekunst had no interest in watching the Super Bowl. He still hasn’t brought himself to study the film. The Green Bay Packers general manager would have rather avoided that Sunday evening all together, except he’s also a father.

Sometimes parenthood requires doing things you’d rather not. 

So Gutekunst settled in to watch Super Bowl 56 with his 12-year-old son Michael just like millions of Americans who undoubtedly found the experience more enjoyable. At halftime, he explained to his son how Snoop Dogg wasn’t just an old guy on the mic, but actually really cool. Gutekunst watched with his face in his iPad, trying to not pay attention, as two teams the Packers beat last season played for a Lombardi Trophy he believed his team was good enough to win.

“As we kind of got toward the playoffs,” Gutekunst said, “this was as good as I felt about really any of the teams that we had, as far as our overall strength. Even though we had all the injuries we had, the guys that we had to step up and play that maybe weren’t going to be counted on, just the way they played. I just felt really good about the depth of our football team, and super disappointed that we weren’t able to finish it.

“In the one-game scenario in this league, you can win or lose to anybody. Overall, I thought there wasn’t any team that if we played our game we couldn’t beat.”

Eventually, Gutekunst said, he’ll break down Rams 23, Bengals 20 like every year, the necessary maintenance to ensure the Packers learn from last season’s champion. He doesn’t need the film to already feel a certain way about which team was the NFL’s best last year.

There’s a bitter taste that permeates with how last season ended. An opportunity Gutekunst senses, still, to write a different ending. The GM isn’t ready to let go of the 30-year title window many outside 1265 Lombardi Avenue forecast could be coming to a close.

This offseason could be a rebirth for the franchise. A chance to capitalize on the reigning NFL MVP quarterback, and the first-team All-Pro receiver who’s his favorite target, with a bevy of draft picks to kick-start a franchise unable to reach the Super Bowl in more than a decade. In his first interview since this past season came to its gut-punch conclusion in an NFC divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Gutekunst made clear he has no intention to start over.

There’s one critical cog to avoiding a rebuild, one Gutekunst didn’t shy away from when asked about the future of his quarterback position. The GM who will ultimately decide whether the Packers attempt to retain Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback said that is unequivocally his plan.

“Because,” Gutekunst said, “I think we’ve got as good of a shot as anybody to go win a Super Bowl next year. He’s the MVP of the league, and that’s our goal. I think we have an opportunity to do it right now, and that’s why.”

Gutekunst knows it will take both sides for Rodgers to play for the Packers in 2022. He expects a decision soon from Rodgers. The two have been in conversation since last season’s end, their relationship much improved from a year ago, but Gutekunst said he’s also affording his quarterback space while mulling his future.

After Rodgers became only the fifth player in NFL history to win consecutive MVP awards, Gutekunst said he hopes to extend him this spring, not trade him.

“He makes this whole thing go,” Gutekunst said. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t finish it off the last two years, but there’s no reason to think we can’t get right back there and knocking on the door, and get there. So, yeah, we’re full forward ahead.”

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It could be tempting to make a quarterback change now, not only with Rodgers’ inability to deliver in the playoffs, but with his off-field antics. Gutekunst said he monitored how Rodgers’ weekly appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show,” and especially his polarizing views on COVID-19 vaccinations, affected the team. He never viewed it as a distraction internally, Gutekunst said. For that, he credited how Rodgers conducted himself inside the football facility.

Gutekunst stopped short of saying he’s more confident Rodgers will return than a year ago, when the quarterback was engaged in what he described as a “war of silence” over frustrations that he felt shut out of personnel conversations. Rodgers has said more than once this offseason his relationship with Gutekunst has improved. On Tuesday, he said the impetus for change came from a conversation following a walkthrough early in training camp, where he and Gutekunst hashed out their differences.

That’s good news for a GM intent on Rodgers returning to his team this fall, though Gutekunst said his feelings on Rodgers have not changed.

“I don’t know if there was a flip for me,” Gutekunst said. “I’ve always had such great respect for him, and the conversations we had even before last summer, I’ve always felt really, really good about. Any of the conversations that we had were impactful about how I felt about our football team. I think for me, obviously being more intentional about those conversations became a priority, and as those went.

“I’ve always felt good about our conversations. I’ve never haven’t felt good about those conversations. This year, they were probably more frequent, and I feel really good about where we sit right now.”

Gutekunst said his desire to retain Rodgers was not a reflection of Jordan Love’s development. Love got his first significant playing time last season, making his first career start in a loss at Kansas City. He also played the entire second half of the regular-season finale at Detroit, throwing two interceptions late in the loss.

Despite his struggles, Gutekunst indicated he isn’t ready to move on from Love. He said it would be “very doubtful” he’d take a call from teams hoping to trade for Love. While Gutekunst acknowledged Love needs to improve, the GM said he’s still excited about his potential.

He also declined to say Love was ready to be his team’s starting quarterback.

“I feel really good about his ability to grow,” Gutekunst said, “and he’s going to have to do it. I don’t know if you ever really know that until you put him out there for 16-some games or whatever. I think if you look at a lot of the really good quarterbacks in this league, it’s usually midway through their second year that you may see it, but they’re not winning. And then all of a sudden they start to win.

“So, again, the only way I think any players get better in this league is by playing. They all need to play to get significantly better.”

Gutekunst hopes that opportunity for Love doesn’t come in 2022. He’s committed to Rodgers being his quarterback this fall, subscribing to the theory that if his team continues knocking on the title door, it will eventually open.

If he’s right, he’ll have a much better view of the Super Bowl next year.