Ron Wolf, who turned the Green Bay Packers from a laughingstock to a Super Bowl champion during his time as general manager, once famously said: “As soon as I start listening to the fans, I’ll become one of them.”
While truer words have never been spoken, the fans are buzzing about current Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst. And it isn’t positive.
The website Betway.com used a social listening tool to analyze which NFL general managers are proving to be popular — and unpopular — among their fans since free agency started.
Gutekunst falls in category No. 2.
Gutekunst was ranked as the second most unpopular NFL GM with a positive sentiment score of just 10%. Only Atlanta’s Terry Fontenot finished worse with a score of 9%.
Jacksonville’s James Gladstone finished first with a 96% approval rating, while Minnesota’s Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (88%), Denver’s George Paton (75%), Chicago’s Ryan Poles (70%) and Baltimore’s Eric DeCosta (60%) rounded out the top five.
The Packers went into free agency with roughly $46 million to spend, and Gutekunst’s two high-priced signings didn’t exactly move the needle.
First, the Packers signed offensive guard Aaron Banks to a massive four-year, $77 million contract. Green Bay then gave cornerback Nate Hobbs a four-year, $48 million deal.
Many in Packer Nation hoped Gutekunst would sign a top-end wide receiver or defensive end — which are Green Bay’s two biggest needs. But it takes two to tango, and when Gutekunst couldn’t fill those holes, he went in a different direction.
The fan base clearly wasn’t happy with those decisions. Like the Hall of Famer Wolf once said, though, listening to the paying customers probably won’t keep you employed for long.
Which is why Gutekunst would be wise to turn a deaf ear to all the noise.
Ron Wolf, who turned the Green Bay Packers from a laughingstock to a Super Bowl champion during his time as general manager, once famously said: “As soon as I start listening to the fans, I’ll become one of them.”
While truer words have never been spoken, the fans are buzzing about current Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst. And it isn’t positive.
The website Betway.com used a social listening tool to analyze which NFL general managers are proving to be popular — and unpopular — amongst their fans since free agency started.
Gutekunst falls in category No. 2.
Gutekunst was ranked as the second most unpopular NFL GM with a positive sentiment score of just 10%. Only Atlanta’s Terry Fontenot finished worse with a score of 9%.
Jacksonville’s James Gladstone finished first with a 96% approval rating, while Minnesota’s Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (88%), Denver’s George Paton (75%), Chicago’s Ryan Poles (70%) and Baltimore’s Eric DeCosta (60%) rounded out the top five.
The Packers went into free agency with roughly $46 million to spend, and Gutekunst’s two high-priced signings didn’t exactly move the needle.
First, the Packers signed offensive guard Aaron Banks to a massive four-year, $77 million contract. Green Bay then gave cornerback Nate Hobbs a four-year, $48 million deal.
Many in Packer Nation hoped Gutekunst would sign a top-end wide receiver or defensive end — which are Green Bay’s two biggest needs. But it takes two to tango, and when Gutekunst couldn’t fill those holes, he went in a different direction.
The fan base clearly wasn’t happy with those decisions. Like the Hall of Famer Wolf once said, though, listening to the paying customers probably won’t keep you employed for long.
Which is why Gutekunst would be wise to turn a deaf ear to all the noise.