Jonathan Gannon Inherits Talented Packers Defense

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Jan 26 2026 7:55 PM UTC

The Packers have selected Jonathan Gannon to replace Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator. Gannon spent the past three seasons leading Arizona to a 15-36 record but wasn't calling defensive plays for those squads, which sported iffy talent. He spent two years before that coordinating Philly defenses that each ranked top 12 in scoring. The 2022 unit allowed the leagues fewest passing yards, tallied the most sacks and ranked fourth in INTs. Gannon spent seven seasons before that coaching DBs in Minnesota, then Indianapolis. He has been in the NFL as a coach or scout since 2007.

What They're Saying

ESPN's Rob Demovsky: "A source told ESPN that LaFleur 'loved the fact that [Gannon has] sat in the [head coach's] chair.' A source also said Gannon was drawing interest from both Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh for their respective defensive coordinator openings."

Mark Oldacres of Cheesehead TV: "There were candidates for the job that may have been more exciting, at least in part due to the unknown of what they would look like as a defensive coordinator. But with the Packers in a championship window, Gannon was easily the most ready made to walk through the door and run a defense from day one."

Fantasy Football Impact

Hafley spent the past two years running a Green Bay defense that performed mostly well. (The Packers slipped a bit late in 2025, finishing 19th in total defensive DVOA.)

Like Gannon, Hafley came to the job from a head-coaching position (at Boston College) and with a background in DB work.

The 2026 Packers could stand to fortify their CB corps further but appear to be in decent shape at safety. They might also need to do some work on a pass rush that's coming off:

a disappointing year for Edge Rashan Gary
a late-season ACL tear for Edge Micah Parsons
and a lackluster first three seasons for 2023 first-rounder Lukas Van Ness

Green Bay must decide whether to try to keep LB Quay Walker (a pending free agent). But they'd still have third-year LB Edgerrin Cooper as an intriguing young corps leader even if Walker leaves.

Gannon's breadth of experience should make him a good fit for a solid-to-strong personnel group. And LaFleur's preference for a DC with head-coaching experience points to the coordinator getting plenty of autonomy.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.