The Packers needed a new defensive coordinator and got one in the form of Jonathan Gannon. Recently the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and formerly the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles,
Gannon will be counted upon to fill the capable shoes of Jeff Hafley, now the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Hafley’s defenses were frequently good, though often let down in games by the Packers’ offense, whose stagnation put undue pressure on Hafley and the defense to hold up to repeated long drives late in games, where they frequently found themselves not up to the task.
Now Gannon has a chance to succeed where Hafley’s defenses failed. Except it’s probably not up to him.
Gannon’s scheme has been the subject of much debate and discussion, both here at APC and elsewhere. But the scheme will only carry the Packers so far. Gannon, like Hafley before him, is going to fail or succeed based on the players he has available.
The Packers had no shortage of player-related issues on defense last year. Kenny Clark’s departure weakened an already very shallow defensive line, and Devonte Wyatt’s midseason injury eliminated whatever depth they had remaining. The cornerback spot, meanwhile, was a weakness dating back to last season and went unaddressed in the offseason outside of the ill-fated Nate Hobbs signing. That we’re talking about Hobbs as a potential cap casualty tells you exactly how well that move went over, and the Packers didn’t give themselves any kind of additional depth in the draft.
Hafley couldn’t scheme himself out of these issues, especially when god-tier pass rusher Micah Parsons was lost to a torn ACL. But that was a recurring issue in Hafley’s tenure: the Packers frequently didn’t have the horses to compete, and no amount of scheming could fix that.
What scheme stops the Cowboys from gashing Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks, and Nazir Stackhouse (two Day 3 draft picks and a rookie UDFA)? What scheme gives Isaiah McDuffie the length and speed to not be a liability in pass coverage? What scheme makes Carrington Valentine into an adequate tackler? What scheme gets Rashan Gary to run out a play?
Hafley’s defenses were, once again, frequently very good in Green Bay. He did more than enough to put the Packers in positions to win games. But there were clear limits there, too, and far more often than not, it was the pieces the Packers had available that put those limits in place. Gannon is going to run up against the same limits, too. He certainly did in Arizona, whose roster was considerably weaker than the Packers and was hamstrung by injuries throughout most of 2025. Unless the Packers can address their player-specific issues on defense, Gannon’s results might end up looking a lot like Hafley’s — or worse.
