With Jeff Hafley heading to the Sunshine State, the Green Bay Packers quickly filled their open defensive coordinator spot with former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.
While there was reported interest from the Packers in Wisconsinite Jim Leonhard, who’s currently the defensive passing-game coordinator with the Denver Broncos, Green Bay quickly made its move before Leonard’s team was eliminated from the playoffs.
With reported interest from at least both Harbaugh brothers, Gannon’s combination of success as a defensive coordinator, experience as a head coach, and scheme-agnostic approach made him a hot candidate.
While his tenure in Arizona wasn’t sexy, that experience of simply being in the head coach’s seat gave Gannon an edge over other candidates. Since joining the Packers, Matt LaFleur has shown a preference toward defensive coordinators with experience. LaFleur oversees the entire team, but likes a coordinator who can act as the “head coach” of the defense.
With the Super Bowl window open and the blockbuster acquisition of Micah Parsons, the Packers need a defense that can win now. Jonathan Gannon is likely the most important hire of LaFleur’s career. Based on what we’ve seen from LaFleur, Gannon’s head coaching background tipped the scales in his favor.
Jonathan Gannon was not a good head coach. But he became a head coach because he was a good defensive coordinator.
— Wendell Ferreira (@wendellfp) January 25, 2026
When LaFleur was just a baby (head coach), he retained Mike McCarthy’s defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine. Pettine was the former Cleveland Browns head coach, with a solid background as a defensive coordinator. For a first-time head coach, Pettine was an ideal confidante. Pettine had the experience leading a defense, but his head coaching background gave him insight into everything else a head coach might encounter.
As we’ve seen countless times, being a head coach means more than just being good on your side of the ball. Therefore, a good coordinator doesn’t always — or even often — make a good head coach. Having Pettine in the room meant LaFleur had someone with experience in those differences. LaFleur could rely on Pettine to oversee the defense and confide in him as he grew into the role, while LaFleur focused most of his attention on developing the offense.
Pettine’s defense faltered in the postseason, and the Packers didn’t renew his contract. Still, LaFleur clearly sought many of Pettine’s qualities in his coordinators.
His next hire was Joe Barry, who didn’t have head-coaching experience but had served as a defensive coordinator and worked in various schemes. LaFleur thought Barry could once again be a “head coach” of the defense. Barry obviously didn’t work out long-term, and LaFleur opted for head-coaching experience this time.
Jeff Hafley isn’t a former NFL head coach; Miami is his first head coaching job. Still, he was the leader at Boston College and thus had experience beyond his specialty. That head-coaching experience was part of what made Hafley a respected coordinator during his two-year stint with the Packers.
Because a head coach is responsible for the whole team, he has better insight into the offense and special teams. In the same way LaFleur has gotten other former coaches, like Nathaniel Hackett and Robert Saleh, to talk to the other side of their specialty, Hafley had a deeper perspective on teambuilding and a different approach to viewing the offense from a defensive perspective.
The best coaches are also the best teachers, and Hafley has an excellent teacher. Every press conference was enlightening, and players lauded his communication style. That also meant he could work more effectively with other coordinators and staff. It’s just one reason he earned a head coaching gig this cycle.
Jonathan Gannon had losing record in 3 season as Cardinals HC. Before that, he was DC in Super Bowl with Philly. Before that, multiple NFL stops as DBs coach.
Sound familiar?
Jeff Hafley had losing record in 4 seasons at Boston College. Before that, co-DC at Ohio State. Before…
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) January 25, 2026
The Packers gave LaFleur a contract extension, but the pressure is on thanks to the acquisition of Parsons and Jordan Love‘s place as one of the league’s top playmakers. Oddly, LaFleur is now one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFC, so he doesn’t need to lean on a former head coach as he did with Pettine.
Both those traits are still valuable, and LaFleur needs a coordinator who can help the Packers get to the Super Bowl now (now as in, like, a year away), not someone who needs to grow into the role.
Jonathan Gannon led the league’s best defense in 2022, and the unit took a massive step back without him. We know that, as a coordinator, Gannon can lead a Super Bowl-caliber defense; he’s done it.
But even though Gannon’s 15-36 head coaching record isn’t fantastic, the fact that he survived being a head coach for three years means he’s seen some stuff. He can serve as the defense’s head coach while pushing LaFleur to grow further and offering more advice on areas LaFleur struggles with, such as time management.
We haven’t heard from Gannon in a Packers outfit yet, but the league is high on the hiring. Those familiar with Gannon praise his adaptability, attention to detail, and unpredictability. Green Bay has recently struggled with a lack of discipline on both sides of the ball and players being in the wrong spots.
Those skills made him a great defensive coordinator in Philadelphia, and he should further develop them during his time with a head coach.
this is the most important thing, IMO
play to the strengths of your players
it’s honestly something Hafley struggled with at the end
hopefully Gannon is a little more realistic in self-scout https://t.co/NdnqqrB5Dq
— Ross Uglem (@RossUglem) January 25, 2026
Matt LaFleur had to get his defensive coordinator hire right, and we won’t know how it all works out for a few years. Still, it’s easy to see what LaFleur learned from his previous coordinators and what he sought in his new one.
Hiring a defensive coordinator coming off a failed stint as head coach doesn’t always impress fans. But simply by virtue of being a head coach, Jonathan Gannon knows more about the entire operation of a football team. LaFleur can lean on that experience and grow himself from working with another former head coach.