The Green Bay Packers knew that losing Jeff Hafley was a possibility after two strong seasons as their defensive coordinator. Sure enough, the Miami Dolphins plucked him to become their next head coach this offseason, leaving a void on teh coaching staff they’d need to fill. Their choice was Jonathan Gannon, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach who’d helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach the Super Bowl in 2022 behind one of the best pass rushes in recent NFL history. He felt like a perfect choice to counter rising head coach Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears.
That may have been a grave miscalculation. Yes, it’s true that Gannon has a certain knack for coaching up pass rushers. However, the same can’t be said for run defense. Truth be told, the defensive coordinator has been mostly unimpressive when it comes to stopping the run in his five seasons leading defenses. Only one of his units ranked higher than 16th.
| Year | Team | Role | Run Defense Rank | Total Rushing Yards Allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Philadelphia Eagles | Defensive Coordinator | 9th | 1,834 |
| 2022 | Philadelphia Eagles | Defensive Coordinator | 16th | 2,068 |
| 2023 | Arizona Cardinals | Head Coach | 26th | 2,434 |
| 2024 | Arizona Cardinals | Head Coach | 20th | 2,149 |
| 2025 | Arizona Cardinals | Head Coach | 27th | 2,158 |
That could be problematic against Johnson, who is well-known for producing some of the most consistently effective rushing attacks in the NFL.
After all, Jonathan Gannon looked rough in their two matchups.
The first meeting came in 2022 when he was with Philadelphia. Johnson’s Detroit Lions piled up 181 yards on the ground, including 144 from D’Andre Swift. Only 38 points from the Eagles’ offense staved off an embarrassing defeat. Two years later, they met again. This time, Gannon was the head coach in Arizona. It didn’t matter. Johnson’s offense racked up 187 yards on the ground. The Cardinals had no answer for it and lost 20-13. Now Green Bay is asking him to face Johnson twice a year.
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He’s not exactly inheriting a favorable situation. The Packers were 18th against the run last season. Johnson put up 288 rushing yards combined in the two regular season meetings. What evidence is there that Gannon can succeed where Hafley mostly failed? This, without mentioning that Micah Parsons will likely miss the first meeting in October due to his ACL injury. Maybe he’ll discover some magic in Green Bay, but all the evidence suggests the original problem won’t be solved.
Johnson has no reason to fear Gannon.
He already knows the type of defense the Packers’ new coordinator prefers and how to beat it. He’ll spend countless hours over the next three months digging into the tape from those two previous meetings, identifying what worked and didn’t. By the time of that first matchup, he’ll have crafted a game plan tailor-made to expose Jonathan Gannon. Unless the Bears completely trip over themselves, Swift and Kyle Monangai could have a big afternoon against that Green Bay front seven.
The Packers operated this offseason as if intending to focus on stopping quarterback Caleb Williams. That is understandable after what he did to them in the two previous meetings. The problem is that much of it was supported by a ground attack that was always a threat, opening up big play action opportunities. Gannon will likely shift to lots of zone coverage to prevent this. Unfortunately, zone comes with a price. It means fewer players in the box and more space to run the ball.
