The Green Bay Packers’ search for a new defensive coordinator came to an end on Sunday morning, thanks to the hire of former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.

Although the response has been mixed so far, the hire marks a new beginning in the team’s quest to return the Lombardi trophy to Titletown, and it may end up being the most important piece.

Who Green Bay Passed On

The Packers were pretty quick in their process following the loss of Jeff Hafley to the Dolphins, conducting just four interviews before deciding on Jonathan Gannon.

The first of those interviews was another Eagles disciple, Christian Parker, who began his NFL career as a quality control coach for the Packers.

He previously interviewed for the job in 2024, and circling back seemed to indicate that Green Bay thought highly of him, but he’ll be moving forward as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

Following Parker, the Green Bay Packers also brought in coaches from two divisional rivals, the Vikings’ Daronte Jones and the Bears’ Al Harris.

Jones has been a part of a relatively successful defense under Brian Flores in Minnesota for the past few seasons, and Harris has achieved success coaching some of the league’s best ball-hawking cornerback rooms.

Harris was also a former Packer himself.

Both were passed on for Gannon, who interviewed with the Packers twice before he was offered the job.

In addition to the interviews that were conducted, Green Bay also seemed to have interest in the Broncos’ Jim Leonard, but didn’t get the chance to speak with him thanks to the Broncos’ playoff run.

It would’ve been nice to cover all of our bases, but with Gannon drawing attention from other teams, the Packers may have settled so they wouldn’t be left out in the cold.

In my opinion, that isn’t the best look, but I also completely understand.

Jobs were going to continue to dry up fast, and if both Harbaugh’s are also in pursuit of your new coordinator hire, you can hope that it’s a good one, right?

Gannon’s Scheme

In Jonathan Gannon’s 2021 job interview with the Philadelphia Eagles, he told head coach Nick Sirianni that he “didn’t have a scheme” because he believed that he had to be adaptable as a coach.

As a result of that commitment, Gannon’s defenses have gained a reputation as unpredictable and unique, which could be just what the Packers’ personnel needs to truly succeed.

Former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley also seemed to share the player-first mindset, but his interpretation was flawed at times, especially considering the position groups in which Green Bay has been weak as of late.

Based entirely on metrics however, it seems like Green Bay’s defense won’t be changing all too drastically.

They’ll still be running a lot of zone, perhaps even more than they did under Hafley, but the primary coverages will be changing.

Gannon’s Cardinals defense ran the highest rate of quarters coverage in the NFL last year, and that’s likely to carry over, even though the alignment was one that Green Bay struggled in.

The Packers were one of the league’s worst in EPA per play in Cover 4 in 2025, mostly thanks to the play of their linebackers underneath, and an injection of talent at the position may be needed to better complement their new defensive coordinator.

In terms of blitzing, there may be a slight uptick, as Gannon’s Arizona defense rushed 26% of the time last year compared to Hafley’s 21%, but both utilized a lot of disguise.

To many Packers’ fan chagrin, it seems unlikely that Green Bay will become much more aggressive, which could lead to another “bend, don’t break” scenario, but in all honestly, the team simply doesn’t have the right players at the right positions to play a more feisty form of defense.

To do that, they’d need to be able to play more man coverage, and with the talent at cornerback right now, that’s simply not an option.

Pros and Cons

One of the biggest positives when it comes to Jonathan Gannon’s résumé is that he’s coached a Super Bowl caliber defense.

With the Green Bay Packers’ current window, that’s certainly nothing to scoff at, but like many other fans, I am relatively tentative about this hire.

For the most part, the roster that was handed to Gannon on the Eagles’ Super Bowl run was complete, with an impact player at each level of the defense, as well as significant depth.

As of right now, the Packers defense is far more of a project, though you’d be remiss to say that there isn’t any standout talent, considering the presence of Micah Parsons, Edgerrin Cooper, and Xavier McKinney, among others.

My main concerns come from the fact that Gannon’s most recent products in Arizona have been plagued by the same issues that Green Bay has dealt with the past few seasons.

Although he wasn’t calling plays and had more duties to focus on as the head coach, only two teams have given up more points than Gannon’s Cardinals did in the past three seasons.

The player compliment certainly wasn’t there to assist, and the Packers will have better options, but it’s still a worrisome conclusion, especially in its nuance.

This past season, the Cardinals defense ranked first in EPA per play through the first three quarters of the game, before dropping to 27th in the fourth quarter.

Take a moment and consider if that sounds…familiar.

At the very least, Jonathan Gannon will bring a wealth of experience to the Green Bay Packers’ staff, which is something that they’ve run extremely light on in comparison to the rest of the league.

Gannon has eighteen years of coaching expertise at just forty three years old, and that alone can provide an advantage.

It’s yet to be seen if Gannon will be able to truly connect with his players, an issue that was raised by the Cowboys when they interviewed him earlier in the cycle, and has taken on a life of its own thanks to some uninspiring clips from his Cardinals tenure, but the pedigree is there.

Considering the lack thereof for the Packers’ last two defensive coordinator hires, being proven may be the missing piece.

A Crucial Choice

Last week, I discussed how important the Green Bay Packers’ DC hire would be for the next few years of the franchise, and with Jonathan Gannon cemented as the man, I find myself neither excited nor disappointed.

The players that the Packers are going to be able to utilize will mostly be staying the same within this stretch, and it’ll be up to Gannon to get the most out of what he’s been given and develop the weaker links, likely without significant draft help.

Whether or not it’s been pretty, Jordan Love and the offense have proven that they can win games, and all that’s missing is a defense that can truly close those games for them.

Give Green Bay that, and they’ll have a chance in February for years to come.