The Green Bay Packers finally decided on who will be their next defensive coordinator following the departure of Jeff Hafley. On Sunday, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that Green Bay is hiring former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon to be their next defensive coordinator.
As you can imagine, this hiring caught some Packers fans off guard, as there was momentum behind Jim Leonard and Christian Parker possibly being the next DC.
However, the Dallas Cowboys snagged Parker earlier this week, and the Packers would have to wait on Leonard, who is still in the playoffs with the Denver Broncos. Therefore, LaFleur chose to go with Gannon, who has spent the last three years as a head coach but also has two years of experience as a defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Gannon made a name for himself in 2022 as his defense in Philadelphia racked up a league-leading 70 sacks and was ranked fifth in takeaways with 27. Packers fans would love to see their defensive unit become one of the top sack units in 2026 after only amassing 36 sacks this season.
Luckily for Gannon, he’ll eventually have Micah Parsons at his disposal, who is coming off a torn ACL but had 12.5 sacks before injury. However, it's unclear if veteran pass rusher Rashan Gary will be part of Green Bay’s plans in 2026.
Jonathan Gannon’s Arrival Gifts Rashan Gary New Life to Stay in 2026
Green Bay fans weren’t happy with Gary’s performance this season after he started so well. The veteran pass rusher recorded 15 quarterback pressures, 13 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks, and seven tackles for loss between Weeks 1-8.
However, Gary’s production nosedived from Week 9 on as he did not register a sack, despite having 16 pressures and seven quarterback hits.
If you asked Packers fans right now, who would they rather keep? Gary or Kingsley Enagbare? Most fans would say Enagbare, who is scheduled to become a free agent, showed promise in the second half of the season.
According to OverTheCap.com, the Packers would only have $8.5M in dead cap for 2026 and 2027, along with cap savings of $19.5 million and $22.4 million during those years if Green Bay designated him as a post-Jun. 1 cut.
That being said, Gannon could find some use for Gary, as he has the versatility to play in a 4-3 and 3-4 defense. Over Gannon’s three-year tenure in Arizona, they ran a 3-4 defense, which worked for guys like Josh Sweat (12 sacks) and Calais Campbell (6.5 sacks).
Gary (6-foot-5, 277 pounds), who is almost the same size as Sweat (6-foot-5, 265 pounds), has shown us in his time in Green Bay that he can flourish in a 3-4 defensive scheme.
In fact, his two best seasons in Green Bay came in Joe Barry’s 3-4 defensive scheme. In 2021, Gary recorded a career-high 9.5 sacks, 28 quarterback hits, and 47 QB pressures across 16 games.
Then, in 2023, the former first-round pick produced nine sacks, 22 QB hits, and 30 pressures (second-most) in 17 games. Who's to say that Gary can’t return to that type of production under Gannon, especially if Devonte Wyatt comes back healthy and Green Bay adds more to the DT group?
That’s what made the Eagles’ defense special in 2022 under Gannon. They were not only getting pressure from the edge, but also from the middle of the defensive line. When that happens, a lot of one-on-ones will emerge, which should work in favor of Gary and Parsons when he does return.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if the Packers end up cutting ties with Gary based on how things went south in 2025. However, with Parsons’ injury and now Gannon coming aboard, he might have a chance to stick around.