Packers Morning Buzz: GM Brian Gutekunst confident Matt LaFleur can command locker room

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

New Packers coach Matt LaFleur has been busy trying to fill out his coaching staff, which could be completed this week (as Mike McCarthy's revamped staff was a year ago). But some key spots remain unfilled.

We'll start with Pete Dougherty's conversation with Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst about the hiring of the 39-year-old Lafleur and the challenges facing the young, first-time head coach:

Pete writes:

Gutekunst also relied on trusted sources to determine that LaFleur has the presence to command a room of 63 players and 20 assistant coaches, and the hard edge to make the tough decisions that go with a head-coaching job. As anyone who watched his introductory news conference saw, LaFleur has a reserved personality, and a non-coaching Rams source said his main question about LaFleur as a head coach is whether he can command the room.

“Most of that was just talking to people who had coached with Matt, worked with him,” Gutekunst said. “Then his presence in the (interview) room was positive as well. He had the whole offense (while) working for a defensive head coach this past year in Tennessee. Him actively seeking that opportunity and doing that this year made me feel pretty good about it.

“… My contacts down there in Tennessee, listening to them speak about how he ran the offensive meeting room. He’s worked with a bunch of different kinds of quarterbacks is important as well. Those are some of the things you’re never going to completely know until you have the guy in the building doing it, but your best bet is talking with the people that worked with him.”

You can read Pete's entire column here:

Tom Silverstein with the latest on the Packers' assistant coach search:

Tom and Jim Owczarski with more details:

Some NFL players like to relax and chill out when the season ends. Then there's Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari:

Rob Demovsky looks at how LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will use the running game to make Aaron Rodgers more effective:

Same old story, same old song-and-dance:

Jason Wilde writes about LaFleur's 'partnership" with Rodgers for the Madison State Journal:

Wilde also writes about LaFleur's inability to add his brother to his coaching staff:

Optimism and a bold prediction:

With the New Orleans Saints losing 26-23 in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game Sunday, we know where the Packers will be drafting in the first round of April's draft:

There was bound to be a Taysom Hill moment in the NFC title game:

Former Packers tight end Brandon Bostick, goat of the last NFC Championship game that went overtime, tweeted this after the Rams beat the Saints in overtime Sunday with the help of a glaring non-call:

It was a big day for another former Packer:

And a "great" day for former Packers offensive lineman Kyle Murphy, who signed on with the Rams' practice squad after being released by Green Bay:

Not such a good day for a former Packers and Wisconsin Badgers linebacker:

The benefit of hiring LaFleur over, say, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels:

Former Packers guard T.J. Lang was near the Wisconsin-Illinois border Friday and was interested in purchasing a particular product not available in Detroit:

Nothing fun about this fact for Packers fans, via Pro Football Focus:

Packers fans can only cringe at the thought of running back Kareem Hunt possibly joining the Bears during the 2019 season:

And finally, watch pro golfer Jerry Kelly have some fun imitating Aaron Rodgers' championship belt celebration over the weekend: