The Green Bay Packers hiring of Jonathan Gannon as the new defensive coordinator was a major move. It got a ton of buzz, and the decision to bring in Gannon, the former head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, will directly impact the direction of the Packers for the next few seasons.
In comparison, the hiring of new wide receivers coach Noah Pauley barely made a ripple on the national scene.
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Positions coaches rarely get hype outside of the diehard fans and perhaps the nerdy beat reporters, but the hiring of Pauley is absolutely a big deal for the Packers heading into 2026.
In particular, it’s a big deal for emerging WR1 Christian Watson, who has a significant history with Pauley.
Pauley spent the past three seasons at Iowa State as the wideouts coach and, since 2024, the passing game coordinator. He was one of Matt Campbell’s top assistants and he became known as a great development coach. At ISU, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins both thrived under Pauley’s guidance. Both players are now in the NFL.
Pauley followed Campbell to Penn State when the Nittany Lions hired the latter to replace James Franklin, but he’ll end up with zero snaps coached in Happy Valley.
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The Packers hired him away from PSU, and you’d have to imagine the opportunity to reunite him with Watson was a big reason why.
Pauley coached wideouts at North Dakota State University from 2019 to 2022. His star pupil was Watson, who led the Bison in receiving in three-straight seasons before being selected by the Packers with pick No. 34 in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“That’s my dawg. I love Coach Pauley,” Watson recently said while speaking at radio row at the Super Bowl. “Obviously, I’m super excited about the opportunity for him. I’m ready to work with him again. He was definitely one of the coaches throughout my lifetime that I’m most grateful for. Definitely helped me grow as a player and as a man going through my college football days.”
Watson is undoubtedly excited. He’s also excited for the man himself, who now gets a chance to coach in the NFL.
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Interestingly, the Packers’ star wideout seems to think that Pauley is exactly what the Packers will need to tighten up at wide receiver.
“I know he’s going to get us right in the wide receiver room,” Watson said.
Pauley will have a lot to work with. Watson, as mentioned, is an emerging WR1 after he put up 35 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns last season in only 10 games as he returned from an ACL injury.
Down the depth chart, Jayden Reed has star potential if he can stay healthy and Dontayvion Wicks is known as a tremendous route-runner who can get hot. There’s also former first-round pick Matthew Golden, who was underwhelming as a rookie but flashed some serious potential in Green Bay’s playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.
Iowa State’s wide receiver coach Noah Pauley talks to media at the school football facility on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK.
In that game, Golden caught four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown — making multiple big-time catches.
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Still, it’s Watson who is the gem of this wideout room. Few players in the NFL have the size (6-foot-4, 208 pounds) and speed that he has. Few players can get open in a blink as he can. Few players are as reliable a deep threat as he is.
If Watson can become healthy, he can become an All-Pro wide receiver in 2026. He’s got the talent to do it, and now the Packers brought in a coach who helped him become who he is.
He’s absolutely going to benefit from the addition of Pauley, as will the Packers.
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