Packers setting up for major internal issues?

The Green Bay Packers hired Brian Gutekunst to run the team, but they withheld one very important power in a shocking decision.

This offseason, the Packers made the seismic shift to move from Ted Thompson to Brian Gutekunst. So far, the decision has worked well, with Green Bay being unusually active in free agency with the signings of Muhammad Wilkerson and Jimmy Graham. In the draft, Green Bay fleeced the New Orleans Saints, landing a 2019 first-round pick for moving down 12 spots.

However, Gutekunst doesn’t have the ultimate power afforded to most general managers. He’s not allowed to fire the head coach. According to Gutekunst, he would need permission from team president mark Murphy, who serves as almost a de facto owner. The Packers have an incredibly unique power structure, with no one owner or ownership group, instead being able to be bought in shares by the public.

This could be a very difficult situation down the road for Gutekunst should he decide that McCarthy is no longer the best fit for the roster he constructs. There have long been rumors that McCarthy and superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers aren’t on the same page more often than not, despite the tandem being responsible for a Super Bowl victory in 2010.

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While it’s tough to imagine Green Bay keeping McCarthy in the case of Gutekunst wanting him gone, that extra layer does add both intrigue and potential pitfalls. It’s something to monitor for a franchise that is historically well-run, especially compared to some of the other teams in today’s NFL.