GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The decision to keep Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst after a late-season collapse was a matter of choosing continuity over chaos, president and CEO Ed Policy said Monday.
LaFleur, Gutekunst and executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball all received contract extensions after the Packers’ 2025 season ended with five straight losses, including a 31-27 road defeat against the Chicago Bears in the NFC wild-card playoff round.
The Packers went 9-8-1 and earned a third straight postseason berth, though they’ve been the NFC’s seventh and final playoff seed each of those seasons. They haven’t won a playoff game the last two years.
“We had 10 head coach openings throughout the league this past offseason, and that caused a tremendous amount of chaos in a lot of other organizations,” Policy said during the annual shareholders meeting of the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise. “I believe that players, and especially quarterbacks, in championship-caliber teams, develop best in an environment of continuity — not chaos.”
Green Bay owned a 9-3-1 record and was leading at Denver in the second half last December when All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that knocked him out for the rest of that season and will delay the start of his 2026 season. The Packers didn’t win again and closed the season by blowing a 21-3 lead at Chicago.
“As we turn the page to 2026, we recognize how close we are to becoming the team we expect to be,” Gutekunst said at the shareholders meeting. “But at the same time, we have no delusions about the areas where we must improve. Finishing games, maintaining our composure at critical moments and consistently playing the best football when it matters most will be essential."
The Packers’ late skid led to speculation regarding the futures of LaFleur and Gutekunst, whose contracts were set to expire after the 2026 season.
Policy had said last year he would prefer not to have them enter a season with only one year left on their contracts because of the issues such a scenario could create, so either a firing or an extension seemed the most likely outcome. Policy opted for the latter.
“I’ve known Russ Ball for 25 years,” Policy said. “I’ve worked with Brian for 14 years. I’ve worked very closely with Matt for the past seven seasons. I’m incredibly confident in them and their ability to put us in position to compete for championships.”
LaFleur has a 76-40-1 regular-season record in seven seasons and led the Packers to the playoffs in all but one of those years. He is 3-6 in the postseason and hasn’t reached the Super Bowl.
“His work with quarterbacks has been exceptional,” Policy said. “That’s obviously a very critical role in our game, but he brought out the very best in Aaron Rodgers winning two consecutive MVPs to developing Jordan Love into a budding star, developing Malik Willis into a very valuable contributor for our team and a very probable starter for the Miami Dolphins.”
The Packers will have some new faces among their coaching staff as they open training camp this week. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was hired as defensive coordinator after Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. New special teams coordinator Cam Achord takes over for Rich Bisaccia, who departed for the same role at Clemson.
During the shareholders meeting, Policy again spoke about long-term strategies the Packers might utilize to remain financially competitive with the NFL franchises that have a more conventional ownership structure. He had outlined that plan Friday while detailing the Packers' annual revenues and expenses.
But there's a limit to how far the Packers will go in that regard. Policy drew the biggest ovation of the day when he reiterated that the team won’t be selling the naming rights to Lambeau Field.
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FILE - Green Bay Packers president Ed Policy walks on the field before a NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)
Green Bay Packers president and CEO Ed Policy, right, gives autographs to fans after the team’s annual shareholders meeting Monday, July 27, 2026, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Steve Megargee)
SEATTLE (AP) — Police now say there were at least three suspects involved in a shootout at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend. One of them was among those killed in the violence.
In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case did not appear for a scheduled initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters, rather than two: the 15-year-old; an acquaintance who died at the scene; and “at least one other unknown suspect.”
“Based on the evidence at the scene, investigators believe” the 15-year-old “and one of the deceased engaged in a gunfight with at least one other unknown suspect,” the document said.
The teen was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault ahead of the scheduled court appearance, Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference. It was not immediately clear why the teen did not appear in court.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, leaving three people dead and at least four others injured. The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park and event space in the shadow of the Space Needle. Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.
News that there were at least three suspects followed a series of confused statements from city officials concerning the shooting.
On Sunday, the police department waited five hours to share with the public that one shooter was in custody and that they believed another to be on the loose. Earlier, the mayor had wrongly announced two people were in custody.
At a news conference Monday, just two hours before the 15-year-old was due in court, Police Chief Shon Barnes said investigators weren’t sure if the second shooter was among the dead. Neither he nor the mayor made any reference to additional shooters. Barnes had been out of town Sunday, attending a conference of Black law enforcement executives in Dallas.
The officials have defended their handling of the case, saying they were trying to ensure they provided accurate information about chaotic events.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. They were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56.
The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday. The others — two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 — were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
One of the victims was walking a bicycle when struck, the court document said. The toddler was with his mother.
Vendors were allowed to return to the sprawling campus Monday morning to collect their equipment and merchandise. Skewered squid on grills, roasted ducks in ovens and plates full of food were among the items left behind as people fled the gunfire.
Near the spot of the shooting, a stain of what appeared to be blood was still visible in the morning. A candlelight vigil was planned Monday night at the center’s International Fountain.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, authorities said. A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area. Police then searched an IMAX theater on the grounds where they initially believed a second shooter had fled.
Adam Lombardo, who had a Burmese food stand at the festival with his spouse, described the panic of fleeing people as a “stampede.” As he gathered his equipment Monday, he described how police escorted them into the crime scene to turn off their ovens and stoves.
“It’s really sad because you think that three innocent people aren’t getting up with their families,” he said. “They just came to enjoy a food festival with people, with friends, with new friends, and they lost their lives in just what sounds like meaningless bloodshed.”
Festival attendee Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out nearby. In the scramble to find safety, she and others ran into the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
“We were about to start eating, then heard someone yell something, then we saw people start to run,” Hunter said. “So we took off running, too.”
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
The U.S. flag flies at half staff at the Space Needle as cleanup continues the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A worker cleans blood off the pavement the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The U.S. flag flies at half staff as cleanup continues at the Space Needle the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A man walks near the scene, a day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer sets up police line tape at the site of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer walks through tents with colorful toys at the scene of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A crime scene photographer arrives as law enforcement examines the scene following a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
