The biggest offseason addition for the Green Bay Packers might be new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The former Arizona Cardinals head coach is filling the shoes of the departed Jeff Hafley, and expectations are immediately going to be high.
Gannon is taking over a Super Bowl-caliber defense with several high-end players, including Micah Parsons, Edgerrin Cooper, and Devonte Wyatt, and a safety group that ranks among the best in football. With his experience leading a defense to a Super Bowl championship during his stint as the Philadelphia Eagles’ DC, we will see plenty of new wrinkles this fall on defense in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The most exciting being the use of Green Bay’s strongest roster group: safety.
If Gannon puts Green Bay’s players in the best possible position to succeed and leverages their strengths, this has the potential to be a home-run hire. Assuming Gannon uses a similar approach to what he did while in Philadelphia and Arizona, his defense will feature heavy three-safety sets.
Gannon frequently uses three-safety looks, replacing traditional off-ball linebackers with defensive backs to enhance coverage and create a versatile scheme. Last year with the Cardinals, he leaned into the three-safety sets. Arizona’s defense played over 30% of its snaps in that alignment. Arizona ran more Cover 4 than any other team during Gannon’s stretch as their head coach. While he was not the defensive coordinator, they were running his defense.
I would expect to see heavy doses of quarters (Cover 4) in Green Bay this upcoming season, both staples of his three-safety defensive approach. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard are all very good in coverage. In quarters, the safeties align 10 to 12 yards deep and are responsible for the No. 2 receivers, while cornerbacks cover the No. 1 receivers.
If receivers go vertical, it’s man-to-man; if they stay short, defenders look for other work, giving their playmaking safeties the ability to make plays. Limiting big plays is something Matt LaFleur has wanted his defensive coordinator to implement since the Joe Barry days. That’s a big reason behind his hiring of Barry and Hafley. Running a system like this will allow Gannon to do exactly that.
All three just so happen to be good run defenders. When running quarters, safeties often act as the “force” defender in the run game, allowing for an extra defender in the box compared to traditional two-high safety looks. Williams and Bullard are two physical safeties, while Xavier McKinney was PFF’s highest-graded run defender on the team. If the Packers find there are limited run-stuffing defensive lineman options this offseason, getting more run defense out of the safeties could be an organic way of fixing a run defense that wilted late in the season.
Allowing more defensive backs on the field will help Gannon and his defensive staff disguise more coverages, setting up what will hopefully be more turnovers in 2026. McKinney is the best ball hawk on the team, and Evan Williams has proven he can get his hands on some balls when given an opportunity. Green Bay’s defense finished last season with only seven total interceptions, which ranked toward the bottom of the league, with McKinney finishing with just one all year.
In the previous season, McKinney led the NFL with eight, including making some history by recording an interception in each of his first five games with the team. Was 2025 a sign of slippage in his play, or were the Packers not using him correctly? I bet he’s excited to see what Gannon’s system has in store for him, with eyes on another multiple-interception season.
The same goes for Javon Bullard, who is on the short list of Packers who most improved between their first and second seasons. With the versatility to play either in the slot, at box linebacker, or as a traditional deep safety, Gannon can build a game plan where Bullard never leaves the field.
Gannon had Budda Baker in Arizona, who was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams and had a similar build and playing style. Baker, listed at 5’10”, 195 lbs., rarely came off the field for Gannon, playing over 90% of the team’s snaps. Bullard, listed at 5’10”, 198 lbs., could be this team’s Budda Baker — and what an addition that could be.
Gannon has said, “I have no scheme.” He prefers to be adaptable and mold his defense to his available talent and the upcoming matchup, so we may not see a heavy three-safety lineup each game. Still, I would expect it more often than not.
A lot can change with the bulk of the offseason – including free agency and the draft – still to come. Maybe there is a defensive addition still to come that will force Gannon to alter his approach. But we have seen this work in major ways for Gannon, and I wouldn’t envision him getting away from what works now.
Suppose Gannon can replicate his past success while in Green Bay, he might just get his chance at another head coaching job if he wants one. During his years coordinating a Super Bowl defense in Philadelphia, he produced top-10 and top-two defenses in just two seasons.
Multiple teams were reportedly interested in bringing Gannon in before the Packers announced his hiring. However, the former collegiate safety has an eye for talent, saw the Packers group, and knew this was where he wanted to be. Expect big things from Green Bay’s big 3 in 2026.
