After getting fired from his job as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month, former Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Jonathan Gannon has reportedly landed a new gig with the Green Bay Packers.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky on Sunday, the Packers have hired Gannon to be the team’s new defensive coordinator. A need for someone new to run Green Bay’s defense was created a few days ago when defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left the Packers to become the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Before getting hired by the Cardinals in 2023, Gannon was the defensive coordinator for a Philadelphia Eagles team in 2022 that made it all the way to Super Bowl LVII.
Former Minnesota Vikings coach Jonathan Gannon reportedly hired by Green Bay Packers
Gannon is very familiar with the teams and venues from the NFC North, as he spent four seasons with the Vikings on Mike Zimmer’s coaching staff between 2014 and 2017 as the team’s assistant defensive backs coach.
After his stint in Minnesota, he spent three years as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive backs coach between 2018 and 2020. Indianapolis is where Gannon met Nick Sirianni, who brought the former Vikings assistant coach with him when he was hired as the new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.
In Philadelphia, Gannon was given his first opportunity to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL, and under his guidance in 2022, the Eagles’ defense ranked 10th in the league in points allowed per opposing drive and first in yards allowed per pass attempt.
In 2024, Gannon helped lead Arizona to an 8-9 record, and it seemed like things were trending in the right direction for the franchise. But then the Cardinals took 55 steps backward this past season, as they finished with a miserable 3-14 record for a variety of reasons.
Arizona’s disappointing 2025 campaign ultimately resulted in the team’s decision to part with Gannon earlier this month, and now he’ll attempt to get back on track by taking over a Green Bay defense that struggled significantly after superstar edge Micah Parsons tore his ACL and missed the team’s final four games.
