Sometimes the best course of action is to say nothing at all. While this can be tricky to do, it can also yield the best results given a particular situation.
With the Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay Packers still at a standstill, every national outlet has thrown in their two cents about the situation. This is fine; it doesn’t hold any weight. It’s just gasbags throwing out their opinions and how they would resolve the situation. What isn’t fine is when Packers president Mark Murphy speaks out and clearly doesn’t realize what he’s saying.
That’s what’s going on now, and it isn’t helping mend the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers front office.
Murphy does a monthly column on the Packers website where he actually answers questions from the fans and fills in Packers nation on what is happening around the organization. It’s unique for a team president to do this, but it can lead to chaos. In his most recent column, Murphy said this about the ongoing Rodgers dilemma.
“The situation we face with Aaron Rodgers has divided our fan base. The emails and letters that I’ve received reflect this fact. As I wrote here last month, we remain committed to resolving things with Aaron and want him to be our quarterback in 2021 and beyond. We are working to resolve the situation and realize that the less both sides say publicly, the better.”
It’s as if he doesn’t realize he should take his own advice.
This situation is dividing the fan base? I’m not sure the situation itself is.
Most would unilaterally agree that the Packers botched this at multiple different junctures in the last few seasons by not keeping Rodgers in the loop and pissing him off. Now, it’s not their job to coddle Rodgers, but letting him know when you’re trading up to draft a quarterback in the first round wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.
What’s dividing the fan base is the actual thoughts on Rodgers. You’d think there would be an agreement to do whatever is necessary to bring back the league MVP and make amends, but many have soured on the idea.
A chunk of Packers fans are surprisingly fed up with No. 12 and have clamored for the “diva” or “drama queen” to be traded and for Green Bay to move on to Jordan Love. That’s what’s dividing the fan base. Not a soul in the world is divided on whether or not the Packers slipped up at multiple spots along the way. Instead, the division stems from those choices, with many waffling on what they now want Murphy and Brian Gutekunst to do with Rodgers.
It’s likely impossible for Murphy to stay completely hushed about this until there is a resolution in one form or fashion. But calling out division amongst the fan base is just pouring salt into a freshly opened wound. Look in the mirror pal, who do you think is directly responsible for the division you speak of? Murphy took zero accountability in the column.
It would be an absolute crime not to include another answer Murphy provided when the Rodgers-Gutekunst angle was brought up.
There’s a thought that if Green Bay would’ve gone out and acquired Julio Jones, it would entice Rodgers to come back. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt, but it’s doubtful the MVP would’ve thrown everything aside if the Packers got something done.
Whoever the hell Duane is, doesn’t care in Murphy’s monthly column as he said, “Murphy! get that jerk Gutekunst to get off his butt and make a play to get Julio Jones on the Packers.” Murphy’s response was full-on troll mode.
“Thanks for the email, Duane. Thanks as well for the 20 previous emails you’ve sent MT5 in recent months. Interestingly, there is not a single question among the 20 emails. While I appreciate your persistence and passion, I must tell you that I have tremendous confidence in Brian Gutekunst. In his relatively short tenure as our GM, he has completely turned around the fortunes of our team.”
That’s a brutal look for Duane. At least ask a question instead of incessantly ripping off one email after another to Murphy, just berating him and Gutekunst. The sentiment is there, the point is taken, but Murphy just sprinkled some dirt over poor Duane.
Until this ordeal comes to a final result, it’s probably in the best interest of Murphy not to respond to any questions regarding it. While he didn’t realize it, his comment about the division amongst the fan base could be taken as him deflecting the blame towards Rodgers, which he definitely wasn’t intending to do, but the optics aren’t great.
The best move is not to say anything until you figure out whether Rodgers will be back in Green Bay or somewhere else next year. It won’t wipe away the “division,” but it also won’t create more of a break between the fans or Rodgers and the front office.
