Days after losing Jeff Hafley to a head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins, the Green Bay Packers have reportedly found his replacement at DC: Jonathan Gannon, recently fired after three largely disastrous seasons as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
Prior to his stint in the desert, of course, Gannon spent two years as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, a tenure that included a Super Bowl appearance. There's plenty discuss about what the move means for Green Bay, and a unit that started off smoking hot in 2025 only to collapse down the stretch after Micah Parsons' injury. But this hire is also important for who it didn't involve, and what big names might wind up where as a result.
Jonathan Gannon brings a checkered track record to Green Bay
Gannon was among the biggest names available in this cycle, but Packers fans are right to wonder exactly what their team is getting here. Gannon was first promoted to play-calling duties in 2021, when his Philadelphia Eagles defense ranked a disappointing 25th in DVOA. Philly made a huge leap amid their run to the Super Bowl in 2022, but Gannon's frustratingly passive style reared once again its head in a 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
His overall success that season was still enough to earn him a head coaching job in Arizona. But Gannon was never able to gain traction with the Cardinal — largely due to the defense, which never finished better than 25th in defensive EPA per play over his three years in the desert. Personnel deficiencies certainly had something to do with that, but you'd like to think that a talented defensive mind would be able to do more with less. Gannon never could, whether due to his own shortcomings, the stress that comes with the head job or some combination.
On the one hand, Green Bay will give Gannon more talent at his disposal than he's ever had before; the last time he was given the proper ingredients, he built a very strong unit in Philly. But one good season isn't much to fall back on, and it remains to be seen whether he's the guy who can get more out of the likes of Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness. Either way, the pressure will be on — especially considering who the Packers passed up to hire him.
What Jonathan Gannon tells us about Green Bay's NFL Draft plans
Some more depth on the offensive line would help, but for the most part the Packers need to address their defense in the 2026 NFL Draft — particularly up front and at corner. There's some good news and bad news here, as it relates to how Gannon might influence those plans. The good news is that, in last year's draft, the Cardinals brought in two instant-impact players at those exact positions: former Ole Miss lineman Walter Nolen, who looked like a future game-wrecker before getting hurt, and former Michigan CB Will Johnson.
The bad news is that the rest of Arizona's draft history during Gannon's tenure is ... not great, including multiple notable whiffs on the defensive side of the ball. How much of that is actually Gannon's fault is unclear, but failure to develop young talent was a major plot line during his time with the Cardinals. That will have to change in a hurry here, especially considering Green Bay forfeited its first-round pick to the Cowboys in the Micah Parsons trade.
Packers passing on Jim Leonhard is great news for the Giants
It seemed like a match made in heaven. The Packers needed a new DC, and it just so happened that one of the most promising candidates available was a Wisconsin native who was a star safety for the Badgers in college before spending a decade in the NFL. And yet, Green Bay opted against making a run at Jim Leonhard — not only that, but they didn't even wait for the chance to speak with him, as the current Broncos pass game coordinator helps Denver prepare for the AFC title game this weekend.
Maybe the Packers got some intel that Leonhard wasn't interested and decided to move on. Maybe they just didn't want to risk waiting for him to become available only to lose out on fallback options if he passed on the job. Whatever the reason, it's tremendous news for other teams in the market for a new defensive coordinator, in particular the New York Giants.
The Giants have reportedly had Leonhard on their short list from pretty much the moment John Harbaugh was brought aboard as head coach. He played for Harbaugh in Baltimore back in 2008, and then spent three seasons with the New York Jets under former Harbaugh DC Rex Ryan. He checks just about every box — he even has interim head coaching experience at Wisconsin, where he took over for Paul Chryst after Chryst's midseason firing — and now arguably the biggest threat to secure his services has taken themselves out of the running.
Of course, the competition will still be stiff. The Jets also figure to have plenty of interest in bringing back one of their own, and there's always the other Harbaugh brother in Los Angeles who needs a new DC after Jesse Minter took the head job with the Ravens. But Harbaugh comes with a lot of cachet, and Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux are a heck of a starting point on the defensive front.
Steelers set up for Mike McCarthy reunion — but there's a catch
Gannon's hiring in Green Bay also affects the Steelers, where Mike McCarthy might want to get a bit of his old Packers band back together in Pittsburgh. Al Harris, who won a Super Bowl with McCarthy as a cornerback in Green Bay, has rocketed up the coaching ranks in recent years, spending 2025 as the pass game coordinator for Ben Johnson in Chicago. As both a former Packers star and a former McCarthy acolyte, Harris figured to be a target for both DC openings — but with Green Bay off the board, Pittsburgh would seem to have an inside track to landing him.
That is, unless another Harris connection swoops in first. Prior to his time with the Bears, Harris spent five seasons as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys — where he cut his teeth under now-Commanders head coach Dan Quinn. Washington has already brought Harris in for an interview, so Pittsburgh is going to have to move fast if they don't want to lose out.