GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers made official on Monday what had been known for more than a week: Jonathan Gannon is their new defensive coordinator. 

Gannon and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur had agreed that Gannon would replace departed defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, now the Miami Dolphins head coach, back on Jan. 25.

“We are thrilled to add Jonathan Gannon to our coaching staff. He possesses tremendous experience as an NFL coordinator and head coach,” LaFleur said in a statement released by the team. “I am confident that he will be an outstanding addition to our organization, as well as a strong leader of our defense. We welcome Jonathan, his wife, Gina, and their three children, Rocco, Lola and Angelo, to the Packers and the Green Bay community.”

And while it’s not as if the ex-Arizona Cardinals head coach has been sitting around 1265 Lombardi Avenue waiting for the ink on his contract to dry, he can officially get down to the business of putting his spin on a defense that was one of the league’s best during its two years with Hafley at the helm.

Although the Packers haven’t made any other staffing announcements beyond Gannon’s hiring, it appears their defensive staff is nearly complete after the Packers lost linebackers coach Sean Duggan, defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis to Hafley and the Dolphins and decided not to bring back defensive passing-game coordinator Derrick Ansley.

The team appears to be retaining defensive line coach and defensive run-game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, who joined the staff last year, while adding ex-Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich as defensive backs coach and defensive passing-game coordinator; Wisconsin native Sam Siefkes, who worked for Gannon with the Cardinals, as linebackers coach; and ex-San Francisco 49ers staffer Daniel Bullocks as an additional secondary coach, perhaps in charge of cornerbacks.

In addition to getting the new coaches up to speed, the Packers face some challenges personnel-wise, especially on the defensive line and at cornerback.

After trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys along with a pair of first-round draft picks for first-team All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons before the season began, the interior defensive line’s depth took another hit when 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt was lost for the season to a severe ankle injury on Thanksgiving at Detroit. That left the personnel department in scramble mode to augment the position behind young veterans Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks and rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse.

There are questions at defensive end, too, where Parsons admitted after the season ended that he probably won’t be ready for opening day after tearing the ACL in his left knee during a mid-December game at Denver. Veteran Rashan Gary, the team’s 2019 first-round draft pick who signed a four-year, $96 million extension in October 2023 but hasn’t played up to that contract, might be a cap casualty after going the final 10 games without a sack.

Kingsley Engabare, who had a greater impact late in the season than Gary, is set to become a free agent in March. Another defensive end, 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, seems unlikely to receive the fifth-year option and would go into 2026 set to hit free agency after the season.

The Packers also have needs at cornerback, where they started the season with a thin depth chart after moving on from two-time All-Pro Jaire Alexander and not adding a cornerback in the draft until the seventh round — Micah Robinson, who spent the first seven weeks of the season on the Packers practice squad before joining the Tennessee Titans.

Veteran free-agent signee Nate Hobbs struggled with injuries and inconsistent play, while Carrington Valentine’s tackling issues briefly led to his benching. Another cornerback, Kamal Hadden, sustained a serious leg injury in a Dec. 27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

And at linebacker, 2022 first-round pick Quay Walker, who didn’t get the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, will be a free agent in March. And while Isaiah McDuffie and Edgerrin Cooper are set to return, 2024 third-round pick Ty’Ron Hopper would be the logical replacement for Walker, despite having played only 144 career defensive snaps in regular-season and postseason play.

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