The Green Bay Packers have not been in an ideal situation in recent weeks. Not only did this team limp into the playoffs, but they blew a huge lead against the Chicago Bears in the Wild Card Round. The team was dealing with a ton of injuries to notable players like Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft.
To add insult to injury, the Packers then soon lost former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to the vacant Miami Dolphins head coaching job. Green Bay surely figured to lose Hafley this offseason, and there wasn't much they could do about that.
Well, the Packers then began the search to find the next defensive coordinator for a team that does have a ton of talent on that side of the ball, and given the current situation the Packers are in right now, the DC hire needed to be a good one, as the Packers have hit a bit of a ceiling these past few seasons. News broke on Sunday that the team did in fact settle on a new defensive coordinator.
Packers set to hire Jonathan Gannon as the new defensive coordinator
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network broke the news that former Arizona Cardinals head coach and Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon is now the next defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers:
The Packers are hiring Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 25, 2026
On Saturday, it was reported that there was mutual interest between the Packers and Jim Leonhard for the vacant DC spot:
While this covers mostly the head coaches, one note in here: There is mutual interest between the #Packers and Jim Leonhard for their open DC job. One to watch. https://t.co/4nHwg2cWnt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 24, 2026
I bring up Jim Leonhard as he appears to be one of the hottest names on the market. Leonhard was in the college ranks at Wisconsin from 2016-2022, holding a few roles, but he was primarily the defensive coordinator from 2017-2022.
Leonhard has largely been thought of as one of those encouraging, young coaches who is bound to have a ton of success at the NFL level, but the Packers clearly did not want to wait it out for Leonhard, who is still coaching with the Denver Broncos approaching the AFC title game on Sunday.
If nothing else, Gannon is a veteran mind and should bring a 'high floor' to the unit, but he did have a stellar final year as the Eagles DC before getting chosen to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Overall, it's not a bad hire, as Gannon has called plays on defense before and now does have some head coaching experience, but given the choices, the hire does feel rather underwhelming.