GREEN BAY — Brian Gutekunst sat at the head of a long, cherry wood table and leaned forward in his leather chair. It was mid-February, and as the Green Bay Packers general manager was getting set for a trip to the annual NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, he’d summoned a handful of writers to join him in the Vince Lombardi Boardroom inside Lambeau Field for a Q&A session before his departure.
His team was less than a month removed from its season-ending NFC Championship Game drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, putting a demoralizing end to a surprisingly successful 13-3 season under first-year head coach Matt LaFleur.