The Green Bay Packers seem to be continually mentioned as potential NFC contenders, but have failed to live up to that in their past several postseasons.
In this most recent season, they once again emerged as a potential contender. However, an entertaining and magical run by Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears ultimately brought a new contender to take Green Bay’s spot.
Even so, many still believe this Packers team, led by star quarterback Jordan Love, is among the best in the league, suggesting they could contend as previous versions of the team did.
That includes one of the newest additions to the coaching staff, defensive coordinator Jonathon Gannon, who coached the Arizona Cardinals for three seasons before joining the Packers. He spoke with the media recently and explained why Green Bay was the ideal landing spot for him in his search for his next coaching position.
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“Personally, I think when you look at the organization, the people that are in the organization, the place, the people, and then our players … having competed against them last year, the people on defense, and not just the people on defense, the people on offense. This is a good crew on offense, having to defend them the past couple of years,” Gannon said at a press conference.
“Jordan Love. That was a huge thing for me. I think he’s in the top tier. So I think if you got those things right, you probably have a chance to win,” he told reporters.
Gannon has certainly seen enough of Love up close as a head coach to realize his ability to lead the Packers to win games. Last season, they beat Gannon’s Cardinals, 27-23. Love threw 19-of-29 completions for 179 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, and the Arizona defense recorded just one sack on him.
In 2024, Love’s performance was particularly impressive, with 258 yards and four touchdowns on his 22-of-32 completions. He finished with a rating of 119.5 in that game, a 34-13 win at Green Bay.
Love certainly qualifies as a top-tier quarterback in the league, but there is a lot of rising talent that could surge past him. He’s still chasing the expectation of getting his team to the Super Bowl, which he has yet to accomplish, but he still has the potential to do so, and Gannon realizes it.
Aside from the quarterback, Gannon has to love the situation he’s coming into as defensive coordinator. The team traded with the Dallas Cowboys for Micah Parsons, a key component of their defense last season. Parsons suffered a brutal season-ending torn ACL injury, but reports indicated the Pro Bowler could return by Week 3 or 4 of the upcoming season, at the latest.
And the team further bolstered their defense this offseason. They added linebacker Zaire Franklin via trade and signed free agent defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, then drafted cornerbacks Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson, as well as defensive tackle Chris McClellan and edge Dani Dennis-Sutton last month.
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