The Green Bay Packers have a new defensive coordinator. According to multiple reports, Matt LaFleur and the Packers are hiring former Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon to replace Jeff Hafley at defensive coordinator.
Gannon, who spent two years calling plays as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator, will become the fourth defensive coordinator under LaFleur, joining Mike Pettine, Joe Barry and Hafley.
Gannon, 43, is from Cleveland. A three-sport high school star, he briefly played football collegiately as a safety at Louisville before suffering a career-ending hip injury. He remained at the school and entered the coaching ranks under Bobby Petrino as a volunteer student assistant in 2003. He’s been in the NFL since 2007, when Petrino brought him to Atlanta.
Five things to know about the Packers new defensive coordinator:
1. Rose to stardom with Eagles
Gannon spent only two seasons as the defensive coordinator for Nick Sirianni and the Eagles, but he made the most of the opportunity — first improving the defense in Year 1 and then producing an elite unit in Year 2. After hiring Gannon to replace Jim Schwartz in 2021, the Eagles improved drastically in scoring defense — going from 20th (26.1 points per game) in 2020 to 18th (22.6) in 2021. By 2022, the Eagles were among the NFL’s elite on defense, giving up 20.2 points per game (ranking eighth) and finishing second in total yards, fourth in EPA/play and first in sacks. Philadelphia allowed only 14 total points in playoff wins over the Giants and 49ers, helping the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII. The group was led by a dominant defensive front that featured five players with at least 7.0 sacks, including Haason Reddick’s NFL-high 16.0 sacks. It ended on a sour note: the Eagles gave up a half-time lead in the Super Bowl, allowing 24 second-half points and 17 fourth-quarter points to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 38-35 defeat.
2. Rough three years in Arizona
Hired by the Cardinals in 2023, Gannon was fired three years into his five-year contract. He finished 15-36 as a head coach, including a 4-13 season in 2023 and a 3-14 finish in 2025. The Cardinals started 2-0 in 2025 but then lost five straight games by one score, including a 27-23 defeat to the Packers. Devastated by injury by midseason, Gannon’s team lost the final nine games of the regular season, including four losses by 17 or more points. He was fired on Jan. 5. Gannon did not call plays for the Cardinals, deferring to defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, but Arizona allowed the third-most points in the NFL between 2023 and 2025. The numbers — both traditional and analytical — don’t look for the Cardinals on defense. But this was also one of the talent-lacking rosters over the last few seasons. Players over plays? The Packers will hope better personnel produces better results.
3. Unique scouting experience
After entering the NFL as a defensive quality control assistant with the Falcons in 2007, Gannon reemerged as a college scout for the St. Louis Rams under general manager Billy Devaney in 2009. He was promoted to pro scout in 2010, and he remained in the job until 2011. The three years in personnel give Gannon a unique profile as a combo scout and coach. Gannon returned to coaching with the Titans in 2012, but he understands the process of finding players and building a roster through the personnel side.
“If he wanted to stay on the personnel side, he’d probably be a general manager by now,” Devaney told ESPN in 2023.
4. Defensive backs background
Like Jeff Hafley before him, Gannon’s background is with defensive backs. He spent four years (2014-17) as an assistant defensive backs coach with Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings. He spent the next three years (2018-2020) as the cornerbacks/defensive backs coach with Matt Eberflus and the Indianapolis Colts. Among the players coached by Gannon during these years include Xavier Rhodes, Harrison Smith, Kenny Moore and Julian Blackmon.
5. Tie to the Packers
Gannon got his start in the NFL as a defensive quality control assistant for the Falcons in 2007. He worked under Emmitt Thomas, who was the defensive backs coach and assistant head coach for the Falcons. Long-time Packers fans will remember the name — Thomas, a Super Bowl champion as a player and coach, was the defensive coordinator in Green Bay under Ray Rhodes in 1999. By the time Gannon and Thomas worked together in Atlanta, Thomas had already been a defensive coordinator at the NFL level for about a decade. Later, in both Tennessee and Minnesota, Gannon worked directly under Jerry Gray, who would later spend three seasons as the Packers defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator (2020-22).
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 things to know about new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
