The Green Bay Packers spent much of the 2025 campaign fielding one of the most dominant defenses in the entire league. And yet, the unit has still undergone quite a bit of change this offseason. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley‘s work with this group earned him the Miami Dolphins head coach job, with former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon being hired as his replacement.
The personnel Gannon will be working with in 2026 will be a little bit different than it was last season. One of the biggest additions on this side of the ball over the past few months came as a result of the team swinging a trade with the Indianapolis Colts for All-Pro linebacker Zaire Franklin, and based on his latest comments, it sounds like he’s excited to reunite with Gannon, whom he previously spent time with while in Indy.
Zaire Franklin Expresses Excitement About Jonathan Gannon’s Defense
Gannon was the Colts’ defensive backs coach from 2018 to 2020, so while he wasn’t always directly working with Franklin, the two are familiar with each other. At that time, Franklin was a seventh-round pick from the 2018 NFL Draft who was simply looking to find a way to stick around in Indianapolis.
Since Gannon departed, Franklin has blossomed into one of the top middle linebackers in the league. He enjoyed a true breakout campaign in 2024 (173 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, six pass breakups, five forced fumbles), but after he failed to reach the same heights in 2025, the Colts decided to trade him this offseason.
Gannon surely is thrilled to have found himself with the opportunity to work with Franklin again, especially now that he is at the peak of his powers. Franklin knows it’s going to take him some time to adapt to Gannon’s new system with Green Bay, but it already sounds like he has an idea of what this unit is going to look like when it takes the field next season.
“Our play style is going to be fast and physical, taking the ball away, and schematic and tactical execution,” Franklin said on “The Insiders.” “Definitely looking forward to seeing what it’s gonna look like come this fall.”
Packers Have High Hopes for 2026 Campaign
GettyFormer Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon surveys field after a December 21, 2025 game.
The Packers didn’t exactly have a disappointing season in 2025, as they managed to find their way to the playoffs for the third straight year. The problem is that, just like the past two years, Green Bay was the No. 7 seed in the NFC, and they ended up getting eliminated in the wild-card round by the Chicago Bears.
The NFC North remains one of the most challenging divisions in the NFL, which isn’t going to make life easy for the Packers, but this very well may be the most talented roster they have fielded since Jordan Love took over as the team’s starting quarterback. Gannon is going to have to get this defense going immediately, but assuming he can do that, this could become one of the most dangerous teams in the league very quickly.
Packers Linebacker Zaire Franklin Sends Strong Message on New DC Jonathan Gannon