I understand that Jonathan Gannon has been taking some serious heat for his lack of inspiration as a head coach.
His personality is the complete opposite of what the Chicago Bears have here with Ben Johnson. The Green Bay Packers looked past the personality quirk and hired a new defensive coordinator whom the Bears and Bears fans should be taking seriously.
The Arizona Cardinals have not been a good team under Gannon for the last three years. However, it does not take long to find a time when Gannon was running an elite defense. Fans and other teams should recognize that not everyone is cut out to be a great head coach, and there are other ways to be good as a coordinator than lighting a fire under a player's you know what. He runs a solid scheme and has a great mind for the game.
Gannon has been a quick riser within the NFL—something that shows how valuable other coaches find him to be. He was only 40 when he had his first head-coaching stint. He was an assistant defensive backs coach for the Vikings from 2014-2017. He then became the Colts' cornerbacks coach (2018-2020) before following Nick Sirianni to the Eagles as their defensive coordinator.
Gannon took over an already solid Eagles defense, previously led by Jim Schwartz. Some will try to tell you that Gannon inherited a great defense and did not help build it into anything special. I mean, the Eagles just won the Super Bowl in 2018, right? Yes, but the NFL moves very quickly, and there was plenty of turnover during those three years before Gannon took over the defensive playcalling.
What the Chicago Bears can expect facing Jonathan Gannon's defense
Jim Schwartz ran mostly Cover 1 with some Cover 3 sprinkled in while running the Eagles' defense. That is not the scheme that Gannon likes to run. Gannon likes to run Cover 4 or Quarters. He likes to use pre-snap disguises and communication with his defensive backs to help create confusion.
However, Gannon has also been known to be adaptable when needed, based on his personnel. This will be a change from what the Packers have wanted to run under Jeff Hafley, who left to be the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. More on that later.
While running the Eagles' defense in 2021 and 2022, the team ranked in the top 10 overall both seasons. In 2022, the team finished with 70 sacks—the third-most sacks in NFL history. They were 8th in total yards allowed and eighth in points allowed (20.2 per game), and they helped that team reach the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, they fell short to the Chiefs in a 38-35 shootout. In 2021, the defense was best against the run. However, they were 11th against the pass and average for total yards allowed. They were still top 10 in points allowed (seventh) and had a very formidable defense.
Now, back to Jeff Hafley and what the Chicago Bears faced this past season. Hafley prefers a more aggressive defense that operates more man than zone coverage. That said, he had to run a very zone-heavy defense in Green Bay based on personnel. In fact, he ran a lot of Cover 1 and Cover 3, much like Schwartz in Philadelphia. Is it possible that a shift to Gannon's zone scheme could be just what the Packers need?
The closest defensive scheme the Chicago Bears faced under Ben Johnson was probably Vic Fangio's in Philly. Fangio also likes to run Quarters/Match Zone. He, like Gannon, will sprinkle in man coverage, though, when needed. Both are versatile and enjoy disguising things pre-snap. Luckily, the Bears did a solid job against the Eagles in 2025. A good sign for things to come in the NFC North moving forward.
I would expect it to take at least a year for the Packers to get the personnel right, as the Eagles did during their transition from Schwartz to Gannon. That said, I was never too worried about who the Packers hired from a Chicago Bears perspective.
I think Gannon will be a solid hire for Green Bay, but Bears fans shouldn't be worried at all. Ben Johnson has proven he can adjust his scheme as needed, and the proof that he can handle the Packers' defense is already out there.
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One funny quirk Chicago Bears fans can laugh at is that Jonathan Gannon incorporated the HITS principles he learned under Matt Nagy in Indianapolis and brought that to Philadelphia.