The Green Bay Packers are still uncertain who their starting quarterback will be this season. Training camp is just a few weeks away and the team and its fans are still not sure if Aaron Rodgers will be under center when the season starts or if Jordan Love (or someone else) will be the quarterback.

The Packers have had several quarterback controversies in their history. They are often a crossroads for a team. Make the right decision, and your team can reach the playoffs and possibly contend for a Super Bowl. Make the wrong decision and the season can be lost and the team ends up losing more games than it wins.

Quarterback controversies also have the potential to divide a locker room and a fan base with players and fans taking sides as to who should lead the team. They must be handled decisively and not be allowed to drag on.

Here is a look at the biggest quarterback controversies in Packers history since Vince Lombardi took over as head coach in 1959. They are listed in chronological order.

1959 and 1960: Bart Starr vs Lamar McHan

Many fans may not remember that Lombardi was not sold on Starr as his starter when he took over as head coach and general manager of the Packers in 1959. In fact, Lombardi acquired quarterback Lamar McHan in a trade with the Chicago Cardinals a few months after taking over in Green Bay.

McHan had five years starting experience with the Cardinals and won the starting job in training camp. He started the first seven games for the Packers that season, winning the first three before suffering through a four-game losing streak.

McHan got hurt and Starr took over, starting the final five games of the season. The Packers won the final four contests and Starr played well, giving him in the inside track as the starter for 1960.

The battle continued into the following season. Starr won the job out of training camp but was disappointing in the season opener so McHan started the next three contests. In Week 5, McHan was benched at halftime.

He confronted Lombardi at a local Green Bay restaurant about his benching that week and never started another game for the Packers again.

Starr took over as the starter and didn’t relinquish the job (when healthy) until he retired after the 1971 season.

Bart went on to lead the Packers to five championships in seven years between 1961 and 1967 and had a Hall of Fame career. Meanwhile, McHan spent two seasons backing up Johnny Unitas in Baltimore and then started nine games for the 49ers in 1963 when John Brodie got hurt. He played another year in Canada before retiring from football.

Would Bart Starr have had his Hall of Fame career with the Packers if McHan had not called out Lombardi in public about his benching? We may never know, but ultimately, the right man won the job and led Lombardi’s Packers to greatness.

1973: Scott Hunter vs Jim Del Gaizo vs Jerry Tagge

The Packers won the NFC Central division in 1972 with a 10-4 record and second-year man Scott Hunter started all 14 games. But the offense succeeded on the strength of the running of John Brockington and MacArthur Lane. The passing offense was subpar, ranking 25^th in a 26 team league in passing yards.

Before the 1973 season, coach and GM Dan Devine sent a pair of second-round picks to the Dolphins for their third-string quarterback, lefthander Jim Del Gaizo.

The Packers also had Jerry Tagge, a first-round pick out of Nebraska in 1972 on their roster. This set up a three-way quarterback battle entering the 1973 campaign.

Hunter won the job out of training camp and led the Pack to a 23-7 win over the New York Jets on Monday Night Football in the season opener. After that, both Hunter and offense struggled.

By Week 3, the game of musical quarterbacks had begun. Del Gaizo replaced Hunter in that game only to be replaced by Hunter the following week in a comeback win over the Giants.

By the end of the season, Tagge started six games, Hunter five and Del Gaizo three. None of them were particularly effective. All three starters threw two touchdown passes each for the season while tossing a combined 17 interceptions. The Packers finished the season ranked 24^th in the league in passing yards, up one spot from the previous season. The team stumbled to a 5-7-2 record and missed the playoffs.

The battle continued into the 1974 with Hunter being let go and Del Gaizo traded to the Giants. Tagge beat out Jack Concannon for the starting job but neither played well and in desperation, Devine overpaid severely for John Hadl, giving up two first round picks, two second round selections and a third rounder for the 34-year-old veteran. The Packers finished 6-8 and Devine resigned before he was fired. 

1987: Don Majkowski vs Randy Wright

The Packers were struggling in the mid-80s under Forrest Gregg and finished with a 4-12 record in 1986. Former Wisconsin quarterback Randy Wright started all 16 games that season, throwing 17 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.

In 1987, Wright battled rookie Don Majkowski who the Packers drafted in the 10^th round of the draft that year out of Virginia.

Wright struggled early and the Packers were shutout by the Raiders in the season opener. Gregg turned to Majkowski in Week 2 against the Broncos and the Pack managed to earn a 17-17 tie in that game in Milwaukee.

After the strike and three games with replacement players, the regulars returned and Wright and Majkowski battled for the starting spot for the rest of the year.

In 12 non-strike games, Wright ended up starting seven times, Majkowski five. Neither quarterback shined, but the Pack was 2-2-1 when Majkowski started and just 1-6-0 under Wright.

The battle continued into the following season with Wright starting seven games and Majkowski nine. Majik seemed to provide the Packers with a bit more spark and the team won three of its four games in 1988 when he was starting.

By 1989, Wright was gone and Majkowski had a Pro Bowl season leading the Packers to their best record of the decade with a 10-6 finish.

2008: Brett Favre vs Aaron Rodgers

The last time the Packers had a quarterback controversy was 2008. Brett Favre had been the unquestioned starter since 1992. In fact, no other quarterback started a regular season game for the Packers between Week 4 of the 1992 season and the 2007 NFC Championship Game loss to the Giants.

But Favre “retired” again after the 2007 season, something he had been contemplating for several years. Favre retired and unretired several times and unfortunately, this was just the latest unretirement for the future Hall of Famer.

After Favre announced he was hanging up his cleats, the Packers committed to Rodgers who was the team’s first round pick in 2005 and had waited three years behind Favre. Then Favre announced he wanted to come back. He took a private jet to Green Bay and prepared to report to training camp.

Immediately, the fan base was divided between those who wanted Favre to return and those who preferred Rodgers and were tired of Favre’s repeated retirements and returns.

GM Ted Thompson made a firm decision and traded Favre to the New York Jets on August 7 in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick.

Rodgers took over as the starter and threw for more than 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first year as the starter. Although the Packers finished 6-10, Rodgers clearly showed he had the potential to be a special quarterback. One year later, he led the Packers to the playoffs and earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career. A year later, he was Super Bowl MVP.

Rodgers has held the job ever since, missing time only due to injuries. Because Rodgers is unsure if he wants to return to Green Bay, the Packers may be facing their first real quarterback controversy in more than a decade when training camp starts July 27.