Green Bays defensive coordinator prioritizes playstyle over playbook

Mike Spofford

GREEN BAY Jonathan Gannon has raised eyebrows in the past for making comments about not bringing a scheme to a new coaching job.

While that may not be accurate in the strictly literal sense, what the Packers' new defensive coordinator means is that it's a players' game, not a playbook one.

So as he's spent his first several months in Green Bay getting to know his players, and learning what they're good at, his message is this: The defense he'll be running here won't be the one he coordinated to a Super Bowl appearance in Philadelphia four years ago, nor the one he oversaw as head coach in Arizona the past three seasons.

"It really is the truth when I tell you guys this is going to be a new system this year," Gannon said Monday in his first meeting with the local media since Head Coach Matt LaFleur hired him.

"It's the 2026 Green Bay Packers. It's awesome, to me. It's fun."

He's certainly enjoyed mapping out how to use one of the game's best pass rushers inMicah Parsonswhen he returns from injury, where a rising star like linebackerEdgerrin Coopercan attack, and what type of ball hawk two-time All-Pro safetyXavier McKinneymight be.

But just as important is figuring out how all the pieces fit together, from the Pro Bowlers to the rotational players, and then getting them all to buy into playing a certain way, which he described as "a fast, violent, physical team that takes the ball away."

Similar defensive goals have been vocalized in Green Bay before, with mixed results. Gannon will be LaFleur's fourth defensive coordinator in eight seasons at the helm, and all his predecessors have experienced success and struggles.

Most recently, Jeff Hafley who became the head coach in Miami, opening the coordinator job for Gannon led a defense that was among the league leaders in takeaways in 2024 but fell to one of the least effective in that category in 2025.

As LaFleur began searching for Hafley's replacement in January, he was intrigued by Gannon due to the challenges he encountered game-planning against his defenses when the Packers faced the Eagles in 2022 and the Cardinals each of the last two seasons.

During a day-and-a-half interview process, Gannon made an even stronger impression as LaFleur got to know him better, and the hiring was expedited.

"I thought it was pretty clear when he came (to interview), man, the guy knows football," LaFleur said at the NFL Annual Meeting in March. "He's got a passion for football. I just love the experience that he has not only as a play caller but as a head coach as well."

Meanwhile Gannon also met with President and CEO Ed Policy, General Manager Brian Gutekunst, executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and Parsons, who was in town rehabbing, during his trip to Green Bay.

He was attracted to the stability of the Packers' organization and a roster that he feels is set up to win, on both sides of the ball, with a healthy mix of veterans and youth. He called his interview with LaFleur "intense" as their conversation jumped around amongst a smorgasbord of football topics.

"I was in a coat and tie, and I think I was sweating a little bit," Gannon said. "It was fun. I got home off the plane and told my wife, Gina, 'This is where I want to go.'"

Since arriving, he's been involved in the hiring of new defensive assistants, gone through all the Packers game film from last season, and collaboratively given his players action plans specific areas to focus on for improvement.

He's also been reunited with a couple of accomplished players from his past, as the Packers signed defensive linemanJavon Hargrave, who had two of his best seasons playing for Gannon in Philly, and traded for linebackerZaire Franklin, whose NFL career began in Indianapolis when Gannon was the defensive backs coach there.

He described Hargrave as a "team-first guy, loves football, smart, works his butt off and is tough as nails," and said some of the same things about Franklin.

Those two were probably more aware of Gannon's approach than others when he first stood in front of the team, as the process of putting together this defense has only just begun.

"We develop the playbook when we get here," he said. "I told the players this. I said this is going to be a little different for them because as we're teaching them things, they're going to see tape of Philly, Minnesota, Arizona, Green Bay, San Francisco, Buffalo, Alabama, Georgia. I don't really get caught up in 'This is my playbook. Here's what we're going to run.'"

He confessed there are basic principles, as well as concepts he likes to utilize, but they won't be part of the package if the players can't make them successful. He emphasized the defense needs to look more complicated to the opposition than it really is, and it's his task to simplify the players' jobs so their playstyle his primary concern can be effective and impactful.

"I just believe you've got to continually every year try to adapt and solve problems with your guys in mind," Gannon said. "Before scheme, I truly believe it's not what you play, it's how you play.

"It's a players' game, man, you know what I mean? And everybody fits into winning. Everyone's role might be different, but it all fits into winning, and you have to perform your role at a high level."