Green Bay Packers’ incoming president makes surprising contract remarks, may have coach and GM on hotseat

Most already know that current Team President Mark Murphy is to move on from the Green Bay Packers soon, but there’s another contract situation that’s surprisingly been allowed to fester.

Murphy retires at the end of this month, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. That’s part of the reason why you saw him so visibly at the 2025 NFL Draft, when he strode to the podium to announce the team’s first-round selection, wide receiver Matthew Golden.

He’s set to be replaced by Ed Policy, the 54-year-old son of legendary San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns executive Carmen Policy, and the Packers are not expected to change their current front office structure, which sees both their coach, Matt LaFleur, and General Manager Brian Gutekunst, report directly to him, as well as fellow front office member Russ Ball.

That leaves a fairly big item in Policy’s in-tray, and he’s already hinted at how he will be handling it, at least in the short term.

Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst’s contracts expire after the 2026 season, no extension is imminent

Both Matt LaFleur and Gutekunst signed four-year contract extensions in 2022, meaning their current contracts expire after the 2026 season.

This is an unusual situation for the Packers, as previously when the Team President has changed (such as when Murphy took over the role in 2008), one or both of the coach or general manager have been handed contract extensions to ensure security through the new regime.

That this hasn’t happened in this case makes it very likely that the Packers will have to decide whether to extend or move on from the pair after the 2025 season, lest they allow both to go into ‘lame-duck’ years, or the final year of their deal, without an extension.

Policy spoke about this to reporters on Monday, and showed no signs of an imminent deal, while also hinting that he wouldn’t allow them to run into the final year without a decision being made.

“All three of them are under multi-year contracts,” Policy said of the triumvirate that reports to him. “None of them are up at the end of this year. We won’t be doing anything going into this season, but I’m generally opposed to a coach or GM going into the last year of their contract.” Policy said.

Are LaFleur and Gutekunst really on the hotseat?

The thought of either man being on the hotseat was unthinkable before Policy’s comments, but this has definitely opened up a can of worms. Policy has been with the team since 2012, so he’s not exactly some brash hothead newcomer trying to make his mark, although his father was known for some bold moves during his days manning the 49ers dynasty.

Matt LaFleur is 67-33 since taking charge of the franchise in 2019, with a 3-5 record in the playoffs, including two NFC Championship game appearances. Gutekunst became GM the year prior and has logged a 73-42-1 record, good for the fourth-highest winning percentage in the NFL.

The Packers have largely built a competitive roster, and even their moves that attracted some scrutiny – swapping Aaron Rodgers for Jordan Love, for instance – have largely been vindicated by events since those decisions were taken.

That said, continually falling one or two steps short on the field could make an impatient owner and fanbase trigger-happy. At the same time, Gutekunst has come in for some criticism over handling of veteran players, not least his recent decision to release now-Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jaire Alexander.