New defensive coordinator faces unique but familiar challenge in Green Bay debut

Mike Spofford

GREEN BAY The NFL can be an awfully small world, and Sunday at Minnesota will be a prime example.

As Jonathan Gannon makes his debut as the Packers' defensive coordinator, the opposing quarterback for the Vikings is the one he coached for three years as the head man in Arizona, Kyler Murray.

Nobody's calling this any sort of moment of destiny, but it does make for a curious Week 1 matchup. The question being asked of Packers defensive players all week is what Gannon has told them about Murray to gain an advantage.

Not surprisingly, the players aren't revealing that. Head Coach Matt LaFleur hinted that Gannon probably knows what Murray "likes and doesn't like" in terms of defensive schemes, but that's the extent of it.

Whatever the case, Murray is running a new offense with new weapons around him and good ones, too, like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison as he becomes Minnesota's fifth different starting QB to face the Packers under Kevin O'Connell. Meanwhile Murray knows plenty about a Gannon-coached defense, but it possesses all different personnel as well.

What isn't a secret is what makes Murray so dangerous, which is his improvisational scrambling and off-schedule game. That's been his forte since long before Gannon became his coach.

"I know firsthand what this guy can do with his legs," Gannon said, "and he can trainwreck the game really fast if you're not coordinated the right way."

In this case, proper coordination involves a balancing act with the pass rush. The rush needs to close in so he doesn't have all day to survey the field, but it must be controlled so he can't escape and extend the play.

"You try to create pressure to able to speed his process up, but you always want to be able to contain him," safety Xavier McKinney said. "Really that's going to be the biggest thing is contain him, keeping him in that pocket."

Easier said than done. New inside linebacker and signal caller Zaire Franklin referred to it as "an emphasis on the play's never over." Cornerback Keisean Nixon, who faced Murray twice when he was with the Cardinals, added the secondary has to be ready at any moment to go into "plaster" mode in coverage.

"It's two parts of the game," Nixon said. "The initial play, and then when he starts running around, you gotta find some work."

As for Gannon's Packers debut, the defense doesn't have just a new leader with the call sheet, but a new one in the huddle, too. Both have been praised for their high-energy approach.

Wearing the green dot, Franklin will be relaying Gannon's calls, and he was voted a team captain on defense (along with McKinney) despite being a newcomer. He was a captain with the Colts for the previous six years.

"Honestly, he's been a leader since the day he stepped in here," safety Javon Bullard said of Franklin. "Guys feed off of that energy. He's definitely embraced it."

For the most part, it's a veteran group he and the two-time All-Pro McKinney are leading.

Cornerback Brandon Cisse may be a rookie in the starting lineup, but Nixon's in his fourth year as a regular starter, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt is in Year 5, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and safeties Evan Williams and Bullard are all in Year 3, and the list goes on.

Teammates say Franklin brings an edge to the unit. His fiery intensity is readily visible. But he's not the only one.

"We bring it all," Nixon said. "X, Z, me, Evan, Coop, Cisse got it. We all play the same way, and we're gonna have a style of play that we're accustomed to."

That's been a buzzword throughout training camp and the preseason with Gannon in charge (and on the offensive side of the ball, too, for that matter): playstyle.

Head Coach Matt LaFleur describes it as "the effort, the strain, the physicality," and he emphasized during preparation "it better be on display Week 1."

It's an important Week 1 in so many ways. The opponent is a division rival, in a difficult road venue, with Gannon looking to get his tenure off on the right foot.

Trying to do so against the quarterback he knows better than any other in the league just adds to the intrigue.

"I mean a guy like that isn't a first overall pick for nothing," Williams said of Murray. "So a lot of respect for him. But JG got answers. He's always got answers. We're looking forward to seeing some of those on Sunday."