GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Eliot Wolf was the candidate with the high-profile last name and a bright future. Russ Ball was the shrewd contract negotiator and salary-cap manager.
But what was Brian Gutekunst, and how did the 44-year-old who everyone around the NFL calls “Gutey” (pronounced GOO-dee) win over Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy to become the team’s next general manager?
“Everyone says ‘Gutey’ is the next John Schneider,” a longtime NFL agent said Sunday night after news broke that Gutekunst would succeed Ted Thompson as the Packers' GM.
The Packers couldn’t get Schneider, the Seahawks' general manager out of Seattle, but perhaps they got the next-best thing.