We’ll have more information on the hiring of new Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon throughout the week, as there are many angles to look at in determining what should be the biggest move the Packers make in the 2026 offseason, but I want to cover this one quickly because it’s a one-time event that I find interesting. After the Dallas Cowboys hired their own new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, Nick Harris of Fort Worth Star Telegramwho currently works on the Cowboys beat and used to work for DallasCowboys.com, explained why Dallas didn’t end up hiring Gannon on a podcast.
There are several reasons why I think a Cowboys take on Gannon would be worth entertaining. First, of the Packers’ three known outside interviews for their defensive coordinator search, Dallas hired three (Gannon, Parker and the Minnesota Vikings move on from game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones). The only outside candidate Green Bay reportedly interviewed who wasn’t a Dallas prospect was Chicago Bears passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Al Harris, who was with the Cowboys from 2020-2024 as defensive backs coach.
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Second, Dallas got a head start on the Packers in their defensive coordinator search, as Matt Eberflus was fired by the team on January 6. Green Bay’s vacancy didn’t open until Jan. 19, when Jeff Hafley took the opportunity to become head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Because of this, the Cowboys hired Parker on January 22a day before Gannon even had his interview with the Packers. They were able to gain greater market reach faster, which is completely independent of whether they made the right decision or not (only time will tell).
Third, and perhaps most important, Dallas and Green Bay are on opposite ends of the secrecy spectrum. Things are mostly low-key with the Packers. Meanwhile, Jerry Jones talks and tells people what he thinks at all times. He has no problem complaining about Micah Parsons’ run defense after trading himeven though he mistakenly calls him double-digit Michael during a press conference. Jones has Cowboys selection committee disclosed FOUR different times. There would be heart attacks at 12:65 if this happened in Green Bay. To say the least, Dallas is a little looser and more media-friendly with the press surrounding the team, based on conversations I’ve had with members of both beats.
Here’s how the Cowboys viewed Gannon, according to Harris:
Jonathan Gannon on Tuesday (I was told), hey, this guy is very smart. He understands defenses. He understands, but can he connect with the players? And I don’t think they got that question answered during their interview process. That was the big problem for Jonathan Gannon. He was one of the top two contenders for this search from the jump. Jonathan Gannon has a lot of supporters in Dallas, whether it’s Brian Schottenheimer, Clayton Adams or anyone else who worked with him during his career.
In bringing him in, it was knowing that he would have a very good chance of landing this job and that he was certainly ahead of a name like Christian Parker or Daronte Jones, but I don’t think he got an answer to that question. If he could connect with them on a personal basis A) and then B) be able to communicate to these guys what he expects from them.
I think looking back on Matt Eberflus’ decision and what went wrong with Matt Eberflus this past season, that’s the thing they emphasize the most is that, yes, they believed in him, they believed in what he was trying to preach, but he can’t get it across to the players.
As things started to go downhill with Jonathan Gannon, I think they realized it would be very similar to hiring Matt Eberflus again, from that standpoint.
I’m not here to criticize Gannon. It’s not Hafley on the mic, but I don’t think it’s an important aspect of an NFL defensive coordinator’s job either. As Daire Carragher of Pro Football Focus and Packer Report pointed out, Gannon’s Arizona Cardinals had just 10 coverage failures last seasonwhich was the third smallest team in the league. Considering Gannon’s defense was a quarterback-based system, like during his time as defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, that’s pretty impressive — because quarterback-based defenses often require a lot more communication on the field than the average NFL defense. To me, that would be enough evidence to ignore the question “Is he able to communicate what he expects from the players?” » criticism in isolation.
Gannon doesn’t talk like the typical macho defensive coordinator you’d send from Central Casting. If it affects you, it affects you. Gannon was fined $100,000 for hitting a player who fumbled the ball in 2025. This clearly falls into the “Not good and if you ever do it again you’re probably out of the league forever” category. I will say though that this is the first time I’ve heard anyone question whether or not Gannon can communicate field missions to his players.
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I have two other things I want to mention here at the end. One factor for Dallas’ perspective could be that Gannon coached under Eberflus, who the Cowboys were just burned by, with the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2020. Perhaps there is a projection from Eberflus onto his former protégé. Second, Gannon didn’t call plays for the Cardinals, unlike his time with the Eagles. It was actually his defensive coordinator – Nick Rallis, who Gannon brought with him from Philadelphia – who called the plays for Arizona. Maybe the Cowboys are giving Cardinals defenses credit for not having many coverage issues toward Gannon’s assistants, since he was a non-play-calling head coach. If that’s the case, though… why did you go into the process with him as one of the “top two suitors” anyway?
Ultimately, Harris said, “Parker blew (the Cowboys) out of the water” in his second interview and was hired within 24 hours of that meeting. Considering Parker began his NFL coaching career with the Packers in 2019, it’s hard to imagine these two coordinators won’t be juxtaposed next to each other in the future.
