The Green Bay Packers hired defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in late January, but it took until May before we finally heard from him. Jokes about his hiring and existence being in question were fun for a bit. Still, it was nice to see Gannon take the podium.
Once he did, his message was clear: His system will cater to the players on the roster.
Gannon raised some eyebrows when he said he doesn’t have a scheme. The base defense will be a 3-4, a pivot from Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 look the past couple of seasons. The Packers have prepared for that with some additions to the defensive front, primarily on the interior.
By asserting that he doesn’t have a scheme, Gannon is saying that he’s constantly developing and tinkering with his blueprint. He aims to be creative and adaptable rather than rigidly adhering to some pre-conceived strategy.
Per the man himself:
It really is the truth when I tell you guys this is going to be a new system this year. It’s the 2026 Green Bay Packers. It’s awesome, to me. It’s fun. Yeah, there are some principles, there are some things I like to do, but it’s only if our players can do it. I told them the other day, if we’re not good at this, just because I like to do it, we’re not going to do it.
Of course, Gannon will have the final say on game day, but his focus is on doing what works for the players on his defense. It’s a stylistic approach that depends on who’s in charge.
What’s even more intriguing is that whatever shape the 2026 version of Green Bay’s defense takes might not be the same in 2027 under Gannon. It’s constantly evolving, or at least that’s the way Gannon would prefer it.
I just believe you’ve got to continually every year try to adapt and solve problems with your guys in mind. … Before scheme, I truly believe it’s not what you play, it’s how you play. It’s a players’ game, man, you know what I mean? And everybody fits into winning.
Gannon’s defensive players have to have loved to hear that.
Will it work? Who knows.
Will Gannon stick by it through any road bumps? That’s to be proven true or false over time once the 2026 season begins. It sounds good in theory, though, and a happy locker room surely won’t hurt the cause.
Gannon has already made this point abundantly clear.
We develop the playbook when we get here. I told the players this. I said this is going to be a little different for them because as we’re teaching them things, they’re going to see tape of Philly, Minnesota, Arizona, Green Bay, San Francisco, Buffalo, Alabama, Georgia. I don’t really get caught up in … ‘This is my playbook. Here’s what we’re going to run.’
There’s a degree of selflessness at play here. Most coaches at the pro level are going to hammer home their philosophy and expect players to make their scheme work, even when the puzzle pieces aren’t in place.
From a wins-and-losses perspective, it didn’t quite work out the way Jonathan Gannon imagined in Arizona. There may be some reluctance to buy into what Gannon is preaching right now. Looking at the rosters he had — or, perhaps more notably, what he didn’t have — with the Cardinals tells a different story. Gannon might have had the right idea, but not the resources to support it. He was given a car with no gas. There’s only so much adapting one coach can do.
Gannon’s style isn’t necessarily radical. However, in his introductory presser in Green Bay, he came across as someone who likes to think outside the box and isn’t as worried about rigid structure. It’s a bit of a change of pace, and one that will be fascinating to watch unfold.
