The 2025 NFL season officially wrapped up on Sunday night, as the Seattle Seahawks handily defeated the New England Patriots, 29-13, to win Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks’ defense stole the show, turning the big game into a nightmare for Patriots QB Drake Maye.
Seattle's defense recorded 11 quarterback hits, six sacks, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions, and forced a fumble in the win. It was an outstanding defensive performance and scheme that teams will hope to replicate next season.
The Green Bay Packers are one of those teams that hope to be in the same position as the Seahawks this time next year. The Packers have the quarterback and weapons at the skill positions to compete on offense. However, questions remain about Green Bay’s defense, now that it will be led by new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
Jonathan Gannon Hire Means Even More for Packers Following SB
Packers fans weren’t exactly enthused by Gannon’s hire last month, considering Jim Leonhard and Al Harris were available. Harris is still with the Chicago Bears, while Leonhard was hired to be the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coordinator.
Green Bay seemingly didn’t want to wait for Leonhard, who was still in the playoffs with Denver, and decided to hitch its wagon to Gannon, who had a lackluster three-year tenure as the Arizona Cardinals head coach.
That said, the hope is that Gannon can turn this unit into a Super Bowl contender as he did with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2022 when he served as their defensive coordinator. During that season, Philly had a league-high 70 sacks, but couldn’t finish the job in the big game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In fact, the last two Super Bowl winners (Seahawks and Eagles) have shown that the defensive line needs depth and talent, but the entire unit needs to be aggressive. Aggression was not Gannon’s calling card in 2022, as they blitzed on 22.1 percent of dropbacks (ranked 18th in the NFL). But they were ranked second in QB pressures percentage at 25.5.
Now, Gannon was able to do that thanks to the depth across the line, as he only needed to bring four down linemen. He doesn’t have that same luxury in Green Bay as things currently stand, so Gannon will have to get creative.
We know that the Packers have Micah Parsons off the edge and Devonte Wyatt in the middle of the defensive line, but both guys are coming off serious injuries. That means Gannon will have to get something out of Lukas Van Ness, Rashan Gary (if he’s still in Green Bay), and whoever at defensive tackle.
That’s a tall task, as we saw Jeff Hafley try to get the best out of Gary and Van Ness, but it never materialized consistently. This season, Green Bay only recorded 36 sacks. This cannot happen again in 2026 if it wants to be a true contender to raise the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Therefore, it will be up to the front office to get the players Gannon needs in free agency and the draft.
Regardless of whether they do that, the pressure will be on Gannon to perform. Green Bay’s Super Bowl window is still open, but they have to finish the job. And it will fall on Gannon's shoulders.