THE Green Bay Packers have hired a former NFL head coach who was fired just weeks ago to be their new defensive coordinator.
The Packers have moved swiftly to replace Jeff Hafley after he was named head coach of the Miami Dolphins last week.
Hafley was in charge of the Packers’ defense for two years under head coach Matt LaFleur.
Now LaFleur has found his replacement in former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter on X, “Packers are hiring former Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon as their defensive coordinator, per source.”
Gannon was fired by the Cardinals at the end of the 2025 NFL season after three dismal years in charge.
He won 15 games and lost 36 over that three-season period, with their 3-14 record this year the final straw.
While his time as a head coach in the NFL wasn’t fruitful, Gannon was once one of the hottest defensive coordinators in the league.
His time as DC with the Philadelphia Eagles is what saw him hired by the Cardinals in the first place.
In fact, just two days after he and the Eagles lost the Super Bowl in 2023, he was named Arizona’s head coach.
Gannon’s defense that year finished second in the NFL overall in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed.
A source told ESPN that LaFleur’s decision to hire Gannon was partly due to his experience as a head coach.
The source said, “[He] loved the fact that [Gannon has] sat in the [head coach’s] chair.”
Another source also told the network that Gannon was subject to interest from two other NFL teams.
Interestingly, it was the league’s iconic brothers John and Jim Harbaugh who were reportedly keen on Gannon’s services.
John Harbaugh recently took over as the new head coach of the New York Giants after being fired by the Baltimore Ravens.
He was looking to add a new defensive coordinator to his staff, with that role now reportedly handed to Tennessee Titans DC Dennard Wilson.
In a strange circle of events, Jim Harbaugh just lost his DC Jesse Minter to the Ravens for their vacant head coaching post after firing his brother.
He and the Los Angeles Chargers remain in the search for a new DC while the Packers now have their man.
