Packers Hire Jonathan Gannon As Defensive Coordinator

Get to Know the Packers New Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon

The Green Bay Packers have hired Jonathan Gannon to be the team's new defensive coordinator. Gannon will replace Jeff Hafley, who was hired to be the head coach of the Miami Dolphins last Monday. Gannon will be Matt LaFleur's fourth defensive coordinator in eight seasons.

The Packers chose the 43-year-old Gannon over other interviewees Al Harris, Daronte Jones, and Christian Parker. It was reported that the Packers also had interest in Jim Leonhard and Raheem Morris, but they opted to move forward with Gannon rather than wait. It was also reported that Gannon had other options available, including interest from both Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh.

Gannon comes to Green Bay with plenty of NFL experience, including seven years coaching defensive backs, two years as a defensive coordinator, and three years as an NFL head coach. Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Matt LaFleur "loved the fact that Gannon has sat in the head coach's chair," which LaFleur also appreciated when he hired Jeff Hafley.

Gannon most recently served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, but was fired at the end of the regular season. His tenure in Arizona was underwhelming, to say the least. His teams went 15-36, never won the division, and never made the playoffs. His teams finished with three straight losing seasons and went 3-15 against other NFC West teams. To top things off, Gannon was fined $100,000 by the NFL for a sideline altercation with one of his players.

Before Gannon's stint in Arizona, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He helped the team reach a Super Bowl birth in just his second season. His defense that season finished top-five in DVOA, EPA/play, and passing yards against. They also produced 70 sacks, 17 interceptions, and 15 forced fumbles. It was a defense loaded with talent, but Gannon helped unlock it.

Despite signing his recent extension, LaFleur essentially has a two-to-three-year window to get the Packers to the next level. That makes this arguably the most crucial hire that Matt LaFleur has had to make. He knows the weight this hire carries. If Gannon flops and it turns out to be the wrong choice by LaFleur, he knows he won't be around to make another one. Gannon might end up being a fantastic coordinator. He could also end up being a bust. No one will know for quite some time.

The Packers' defense has its fair share of deficiencies, but accountability seemed to be lacking at times throughout the season. There were far too many times when players would have a bust in coverage or an undisciplined penalty, and it ended up costing the team. Luckily, Gannon is a strong believer in accountability. "Player accountability is simply this: You have to define what winning behavior is and hold people to that standard," Gannon said. "Accountability is not just a negative. It's a positive too. When people do the right thing, that is winning behavior … as hard as we are going to be on our guys, we're going to love 'em up even more. That's how you win games." Here's to hoping Gannon brings that exact mindset to Green Bay.

What Jonathan Gannon’s Defense REALLY Means for the Packers (Quarters, Cover 7 & What’s Coming Next)

What kind of defense are the Green Bay Packers actually getting under Jonathan Gannon? CHTV co-founder Aaron Nagler is joined by Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Company to break down Gannon’s coverage philosophy, why quarters (Cover 4 / Cover 7) is at the heart of his scheme, and how this defense fits Matt LaFleur’s vision for winning football.

The Long Term Outlook Of The Offensive Line

Let’s dive into the offensive side of things, with a quick trip into the troubled waters of the offensive line. We all know the story by now. In the offseason of 2025, longtime center Josh Myers was allowed to leave the team, and the Packers plugged the hole he left in a bit of an unorthodox fashion.

Instead of making a 1 for 1 addition at the center position, in free agency or the draft, the team opted instead to move veteran guard Elgton Jenkins into the center role. Then, the addition was actually made at Jenkins’ old spot, left guard. Aaron Banks joined the team on a rather large contract, totaling four years and $77 million dollars.

The idea was simple. Addition by subtraction, via letting the perinally disappointing Myers out the door, letting the always rock-solid Elgton Jenkins stabilize the spot, and bet big on a breakout from Aaron Banks. Meanwhile, Rasheed Walker could take a step forward in his contract year, before being replaced by Jordan Morgan. Zach Tom had just signed a major extension to stay in Green Bay and anchor the line for years to come. And at right guard, Sean Rhyan / Jordan Morgan could push each other in a starting competition, where the winner could contribute heavily towards the team’s success. There was a path forward for the Packers to once again put a solid OL in front of their franchise QB.

Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.

In what was one of the most disappointing facets of the 2025 season, the offensive line crumbled under injuries, poor performances, and schematic failings. Going over each and every one of these would be an entire article itself, so I’ll skip that for now. The question is: where do the Packers go from here?

Packers Mock Draft: Finding Value & Trusting the Board

The latest Packers Mock Draft is here and this one is all about trusting the board and cashing in on late-round value.

CHTV draft analyst Newt Westen wraps up a full Packers mock draft with a deep dive into the final picks—highlighting why Tanner Koizel still feels like a win, why Red Murdoch is the definition of an old-school, downhill, run-thumping linebacker, and how value selections like Albert Regis and Quintavious Hutchins helped close this draft strong.

As always, let us know what you would’ve done differently!

The Pro Bowl: Honor, or Punchline?

On Monday, with Patriots QB Drake Maye, who was previously elected to the Pro Bowl now playing in the Super Bowl in two weeks, it was announced that Browns' rookie QB, Shedeur Sanders, would be taking his place in the Pro Bowl on the AFC side. Drake Maye undoubtedly earned his election as one of the best QBs of the 2025 season. But Shedeur Sanders played in less than half the season and put up more interceptions than touchdowns. Not to mention, he only threw for 1400 yards.

To put a Packers' spin on it, Tuesday, CB Keisean Nixon was announced to be heading to the Pro Bowl. We're not going to say that Nixon had a terrible season, as he did flash at times. But there is a reason why some Packers' fans won't be sad to possibly see Nixon on a different roster next season.

That's not something that is often said about a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Notoriously, back in 2012, then-Packers center Jeff Saturday was elected to the Pro Bowl despite being benched towards the end of the season in favor of Evan Dietrich-Smith.

So, how do we fix this?

It stands to reason that the NFL may indeed be following their voting model and that fans, players, and coaches are just voting in droves for those more popular or recognizable players. But that's not to say the voting model is perfect. Normally, Pro Bowl voting begins at the end of November and lasts until December. Perhaps instead of placing a player from every team at every position amongst the voting options, they should only place the top players at each position in the voting.

Perhaps split voting into two categories. The top-tier percentage of players at certain positions and the secondary tier. The top tier houses the top players, and the secondary tier houses those who are more in the middle. Pro Bowl elections are taken from the top tier, and then alternates are taken from those that didn't make it in the top tier, or if none of those players can go, they pull from the secondary tier.

The process, as is, is far from perfect, let alone respected. Current and former players have become much more vocal about the Pro Bowl being meaningless, and that needs to change.

Is Sean Rhyan Worth Re-Signing at Center?

The Green Bay Packers are getting ready for another franchise-altering offseason. Their first and most important decision has already been made: who is going to be the head coach of this football team. That question was answered with an emphatic Matt LaFleur. The Packers handed him a reportedly lucrative extension to remain their head coach, and included in that was no requirement to make any changes to his staff. A sign that the team is going to be in the Matt LaFleur business for years to come.

That brings us to the list of the Packers’ nine pending unrestricted free agents. A quick glance at the list and you can glean who is a lock to leave: Malik Willis, Rasheed Walker, and Romeo Doubs. Thank you for your contributions and good luck in your future endeavors, but the Packers are not going to shell out big-time contracts in their cap-strapped state to those three. The one player we can’t make heads or tails of is Sean Rhyan. The former third-round pick is hitting free agency for the first time in his career and is one of the more interesting choices this team is going to need to make early in this offseason.

If the Packers wanted to go the draft route, there are only two centers ranked in the top 100 prospects, and one of them, Connor Lew, tore his ACL in October and won’t be ready to start the season, still leaving them with a hole at center.

It’s hard to see Green Bay opting to use their limited free-agent dollars on the top free agent on the market, Tyler Linderbaum. He’s projected to receive a deal in the $17 million-per-year range. That’s way too rich for Green Bay given their cap constraints. Connor McGovern, Ted Karras, and Ethan Pocic round out the rankings of the top five free-agent centers (in addition to Rhyan), but McGovern will be too pricey, and Karras (age) and Pocic (Achilles injury) will likely take them out of consideration for a Green Bay offense that loves it's youth and doesn’t need any additional rehabbing players. Rhyan's knee injury suffered on the final drive of the season isn't anything of long term concern by all reports.

Factoring in the lack of free-agent options and dollars, along with the dearth of prospects in this year’s draft, it makes all the sense in the world to bring back Sean Rhyan if they can make the numbers match up. Out of all nine of the Packers’ pending unrestricted free agents set to hit the market this offseason, bringing back Sean Rhyan to help provide some level of stability should be an easier decision for Brian Gutekunst.

The Hire That Could Push Green Bay to the Super Bowl

The Green Bay Packers have hired Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator, and it could be the move that puts them over the top. On the latest episode of Carry The G Radio The Podcast, Aaron Nagler and Bill Schmid break down the Gannon hire and how he fits Matt LaFleur’s vision. As the NFL world watches the Super Bowl, Packers fans should remember: Green Bay is positioned to contend for a championship next season.

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Has Lukas Van Ness Done Enough for the Packers to Pick Up His Fifth-Year Option?

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has many important decisions to make over the coming offseason. One of them is whether to pick up the fifth-year option of defensive end Lukas Van Ness. The former Iowa star will be entering his fourth season with the Packers in 2026, and it will be the final year of his rookie contract.

The Packers selected Van Ness with the 13th overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Through three seasons, Van Ness has yet to establish himself as a starter in the NFL. He made his first two NFL starts late this season after Micah Parsons was out of the lineup due to injuries.

Van Ness played nine games in 2025 and missed eight due to injury. He finished the season with 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and three tackles for loss. Van Ness made 19 total tackles while playing 45 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in the games he appeared in.

Pro Football Focus gave Van Ness high grades for his performance this season. His run defending grades were good, and his pass rush marks were just slightly lower. Of course, this was all in limited playing time.

It’s estimated that the fifth-year option for Van Ness would cost roughly $15 million. The fifth-year option includes no signing bonus, and all of the money is guaranteed for one season. That would keep Van Ness in green and gold through the 2027 season. The Packers could always opt to extend Van Ness if they want to reduce the cap hit for 2027.

Unfortunately, injuries slowed Van Ness’ progress during the regular season as he missed eight games. The underlying advanced numbers look good, but they are based on a small sample size.

Van Ness will not turn 25 until July, so he is just entering his prime as an NFL player. He also adds versatility to the defensive line because he has experience lining up as a defensive tackle both in college and in the NFL. That could allow the Packers to get more of their best edge rushers on the field and still get pressure from the interior of the line with Van Ness and Devonte Wyatt.

Expect Gutekunst to pick up Van Ness’ fifth-year option this offseason. Then it will be up to Van Ness to prove Gute right.

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Ask Maggie: Franchise Tag Romeo Doubs?

Spotrac estimates the franchise tag for a WR in 2026 is going to be just over $28 million. It also lists Doubs’ free agent market at around $12 million per year. So I don’t think there’s any way the Packers use the franchise tag on Doubs, even in a tag and trade scenario like they did with Adams (who warranted that caliber of money).

Looking at the projected rates for this offseason, I don’t know if there’s anyone currently on the roster that Green Bay would even consider using the tag on. There are some big names coming up in free agency in 2027 (Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Devonte Wyatt) assuming extensions don’t happen sooner, so the Packers should be pinching pennies for that.

Remember to submit your own Packers question at [email protected] and Maggie could answer it in next week’s mailbag!

2026 Shrine Bowl Practice Standouts

CHTV Contributor Myles Teteak gives an update on several draft prospects who stood out to him and could be of interest to the Packers after practice at the East West Shrine Bowl.

Early Cornerback Rankings For The 2026 NFL Draft

CHTV NFL Draft analyst Newt Westen breaks down his Top 8 Cornerbacks in this year’s NFL Draft class. Newt runs through the rankings, traits, strengths/concerns, and draft range for his Top 8 prospects prior to the All Star games.