Packers GM Brian Gutekunst will be speaking at the combine on Tuesday
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur apparently won’t be making the trip down to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine next week, but general manager Brian Gutekunst will, as he’s scheduled to talk to the press on Tuesday. Gutekunst’s scheduled time is 10:15 am Eastern on Tuesday, the second-earliest slot of the day, presumably to get it out of the way.
Gutekunst got out of holding a mid-season press conference this year, as the Packers had an early bye week and didn’t make a trade at the 2025 deadline. He spoke to the media on February 4th, a delayed end-of-the-year presser due to the timing of the team’s extensions for LaFleur, Gutekunst and executive vice president of football operations Russ Ball.
LaFleur not going to the combine is hardly a surprise at this point, since he didn’t travel in 2023, 2024 or 2025, either. The Packers often bring in many of the players that they end up drafting in April via their allotted 30 pre-draft visits, and have since the pandemic. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like the organization values those in-person prospect interviews in Indianapolis much for the coaching staff, since they make it up on the back end with prospect visits to Green Bay.
For what it’s worth, the Packers still haven’t scheduled a press conference for defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who was hired nearly a month ago. Things are going to have to move pretty quickly here, since the combine ends on March 2nd, the legal tampering period begins on March 9th and the start of the new league year (including free agency) is March 11th.
On top of that, LaFleur still needs to hire a special teams coordinator, too, after Rich Bisaccia resigned on February 17th. So far, four coaches are reported to have scheduled interviews with the Packers for the vacancy, but one has since taken a college job.
No ice, no problem. Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo’s impossible dream
Limits never existed for Donovan Carrillo, the Mexican skater. With only a pair of skates and the ice rink of a shopping mall as a training scenario, he began to forge a dream that, over time, materialized to become not only a personal milestone, but a historic one for all of Mexico.
Carrillo, 26, is the first Mexican to qualify for the figure skating final at the Olympic Winter Games, achieving it for the first time at the Beijing 2022 Olympics and the current Milano Cortina 2026. In addition, he has won other titles during his career of almost 20 years.
The skater has become living proof that even when accessible roads are nonexistent, one can create them, because choosing figure skating as a discipline in Mexico is a challenge due to the lack of infrastructure to practice it.
“I was told many times that I would never achieve anything in figure skating. That it was crazy to even try,” Carrillo told Olympics.com. “And that the most I could hope for in an international competition was to finish last. I’ve proven that Mexicans have a lot to offer in sports.”
The beginning: A dream over ice at a mall
Born in Zapopan, Jalisco, Carrillo fell in love with figure skating when he was 8 years old. At the time, he was involved in gymnastics and diving. That spark for figure skating came thanks to his older sister, Daphne, who practiced the sport.
“I used to go with my parents to pick her up, and that’s what led me to meet a girl and fall in love,” Carrillo told Olympics.com.
Noticias esenciales en español: Suscríbete al boletín de La Voz
After Carrillo began training, figure skating became an expensive sport for his family, and they were no longer able to afford lessons with his coach, Gregorio Núñez. But the coach did not want to part ways with the athlete and his family, as Carrillo’s future looked bright in his eyes.
“I saw that he was a child with a special spark, with charisma,” Núñez said for Winter Tracks, an original Olympic Channel series. “At that moment, I believed it was the best option, and now I think I wasn’t wrong.”
The shared dream between Núñez, Carrillo and his family led Donovan to move from Zapopan to León, Guanajuato, with his coach in 2013 to continue training in the sport. He kept training at a shopping mall ice rink while drawing inspiration from figure skating greats Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernández.
After years of practice and growth miles away from home, Carrillo began competing nationally. His first competition took place in Mexico City in 2013 when he participated in the ISU Joven Magnífico Prix (JGP).
The evolution and present: A historic Mexican milestone for figure skating
During the 2017–2018 season, Carrillo competed in his first international tournament. In 2019, he made history by becoming the first Mexican to land a triple axel in an official competition and earned his first international medal at the Philadelphia Summer International, where he placed second.
In 2022, Carrillo experienced the “pinch me” moment every athlete dreams of: competing in the Olympic Games. He secured his spot thanks to his 20th-place finish at the 2021 World Championship, becoming the first Mexican in 30 years to compete in the men’s individual figure skating program at the Olympics.
But making it to the Olympics and performing in the short program of the competition was not the end of the story. Historic achievements continued for Carrillo and Mexico when he qualified for the free skate program (final) concluding the Olympic tournament in 22nd place.
“My performance at Beijing 2022 is proof that the only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves,” Carrillo told Olympics.com.
Carrillo experienced a sense of déjà vu at the Milano Cortina 2026, where the Mexican once again took to the ice with technique, attitude and confidence. These qualities led him to qualify once more for the final program in figure skating, where he finished the competition in 22nd place again.
But beyond medals, Carrillo has earned the love of many, especially his fellow Mexicans. One of the greatest proofs of that support came in the applause that blended with chants that yelled “Donovan! Donovan!” following his short program performance at the 2026 Olympics — a moment sealed with an inspiring message from the athlete.
“This is for Mexico,” Carrillo said, looking into the camera after finishing his performance. “Dreams do come true.”
Reach out to La Voz reporter Paula Soria via email:[email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is Donovan Carrillo? The only Latino figure skater at the Olympics
Bryce Harper urges Phillies to reunite with Rhys Hoskins, beloved slugger is game
This would be a very fun signing if the Phillies make it happen.
How Hodgkinson broke a 23-year-old world record
Preparation, training, and belief - after Keely Hodgkinson smashes the indoor 800m world record, her coach Jenny Meadows explains how their plan came together.