The season-opening matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers has a hundred layers worth peeling back, though the newest is the potentially budding rivalry between Vikings starting QB Kyler Murray and new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Gannon took over head coaching duties with the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, where Murray was the starting QB and former No. 1 overall pick. Murray battled health issues their first season together, and the two eventually tallied an 11-14 mark across their first two years as a QB-coach tandem.
Murray sustained a mid-foot sprain in 2025, playing just five games (2-3) for the team that year. What started out as an injury-based sidelining became a play from the organization to keep the signal-caller as healthy as possible ahead of an attempt to trade him this offseason.
However, no other organization bit and the Cardinals released Murray in early March while still owing him $36 million and change, roughly three months after firing Gannon. Murray ended up inking a league-minimum deal with the Vikings, while Gannon took over as DC in Green Bay.
Now, the two are headed for a Week 1 matchup in Minneapolis.
Gannon spoke to reporters about his former quarterback and soon-to-be opponent on Tuesday, September 8.
“I got nothing but love and respect for K1,” Gannon said, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “He’s competitive, he’s smart, he can make all the throws and he can beat you with his legs.”
Jonathan Gannon Part of Cardinals Group That Sidelined Kyler Murray for Good
Gannon was not part of the Arizona regime that actually traded Murray, though he was the head coach when the organization decided to bench the QB and move on as quickly as possible. As such, it is hard to gauge precisely what the relationship was/is between Gannon and Murray.
Regardless, Gannon didn’t afford Murray or his Vikings teammates any bulletin board material, so the press conference was a win in that way for the Packers. But Murray may not need much incentive, as analysts around the league have widely expressed a shared belief that if Murray struggles, this will likely be his last go-round as a QB1.
“Murray has to prove that he can stay healthy and thrive within the context of a new, more popular offensive system,” Bill Barnwell of ESPN wrote September 3. “If Murray can’t stay healthy or isn’t a great fit in the offense, well, he’s probably looking at his last guaranteed starting role.”
Kyler Murray Can Change Career Trajectory With Strong Season in Minnesota
The flip side of that coin is that if Murray succeeds, Barnwell noted he could have a career year given the talent across the Vikings’ group of pass-catchers.
Beyond that, Phil Mackey of SKOR North predicted Murray could end up landing a massive contract extension that exceeds $150 million while writing the second chapter of his NFL career in the NFC North Division.
“If it goes as well as it could, where he plays 17 games, he throws for 4,000 yards, they go to the playoffs, it’s one of the two best seasons of his career — we’re probably talking about a three-to-four year contract for a minimum of $40 million per year,” Mackey said last week.
Under those circumstances, Murray and Gannon could be squaring off at least twice annually for the rest of the 2020s as featured participants in one of the league’s most historic rivalries.
Vikings’ Kyler Murray Gets Words From Ex-HC Turned Packers DC Before Week 1