Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers found their man at defensive coordinator in Jonathan Gannon. The team officially announced Gannon’s hire to the position this week.
With the announcement, LaFleur shared how excited he and the Packers are to have the new defensive mind on staff.
“We are thrilled to add Jonathan Gannon to our coaching staff. He possesses tremendous experience as an NFL coordinator and head coach,” said LaFleur on Monday. “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.”
Gannon has two previous seasons of defensive coordinator experience. He coordinated the Philadelphia Eagles defense from 2021-22.
In his final campaign as Eagles DC, the unit finished second in yards allowed and eighth in points yielded.
The past three seasons, Gannon was the Arizona Cardinals head coach.
Jonathan Gannon Officially Joins Matt LaFleur Coaching Staff With Green Bay Packers
The Packers officially added Gannon as defensive coordinator Monday to replace Jeff Hafley. The former Packers defensive coordinator left this offseason to become Miami Dolphins head coach.
Gannon wasn’t a successful head coach with the Cardinals. He appeared to have the team heading in the right direction during 2024 when they went 8-9. In his first season, the Cardinals posted a 4-13 mark.
But Arizona dropped to 3-14 while playing in the NFL’s toughest division last season. He posted a 15-36 overall record as head coach.
Gannon’s defenses were never great statistically in Arizona. The Cardinals finished 21st or worse in yards allowed in all three of Gannon’s seasons. They also never ended a campaign better than 15th in points allowed.
But Gannon didn’t exactly have a lot of talent to work with in Arizona. While coordinating the Eagles defense, Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 sacks.
Behind that lethal pass rush, the Eagles won the NFC in 2022.
Grading Green Bay Hiring Gannon
Most NFL analysts grade head coach hires, and for good reason. Those coaches will get the bulk of the credit and blame for their new teams this season.
But CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani and Bryan DeArdo graded the coordinator hires around the NFL this offseason. The two analysts loved the Packers adding Gannon as defensive coordinator.
“The Cardinals fired Gannon after he went 15-36 over three seasons, but he was widely regarded as one of the league’s best coordinators during his time with the Eagles. During Philadelphia’s run to Super Bowl LVII, the defense ranked in the top eight in points allowed per game, total yards allowed per game and sacks with Gannon calling plays,” wrote Dajani.
“This could be a nice fit for Micah Parsons. Maybe Gannon wasn’t the best lead man, but he’s an experienced defensive mind who has held this role before.”
Micah Parsons should be itching to play for a defensive coordinator who led a unit to 70 sacks in 2022. Parsons has posted at least 12 sacks in all five of his NFL seasons.
The Packers might have to add an edge rusher to support Parsons, but the pass rush should be Green Bay’s defensive strength next season.
Matt LaFleur Speaks out on New Packers DC Jonathan Gannon