Jonathan Gannon - Head Coach, packers Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-15 | Full transcript (primary source).
Jonathan Gannon, Head Coach of the Packers, addressed the media on September 15, 2026, following a challenging game where the team allowed 39 points. During the press conference, he discussed the need for adjustments in their defensive strategy and the importance of preparing for unexpected changes in the opposing team's lineup.
Transcript
Gannon: It's just kind of big picture I should I realized that there's a lot of points We should give a lot of yards to hide up and they do the day as a whole Yeah, I mean kind of a it's like any game whether you win or lose there's some good things from that We took away from it. There's some bad things that we got to get cleaned up I don't like where the score ended. You're not going to win many games giving up 39 points So we'll just look to clean the things up that we need to clean up.
Gannon: That entire camp preparing for one quarterback and then first quarter How much of an adjustment did that force to kind of go on? Yeah, obviously we made some adjustments Particularly with the with the rush plan was a little bit different And I got to do a better job of making sure that we have enough answers if that happens To make sure we're putting our guys in the right spots.
Gannon: In my seat Yeah You always you know when they named them the backup, you know because you had JJ and all that going on But yeah You you have your thoughts and you don't put a ton of time into it But you do prep your guys for if the backup comes in how is that different than the starter? In that particular case Wentz is still kind of a mobile guy as well. So didn't change a whole ton But I do think I have to do a better job When that happens to get to have a couple more answers than I had.
Gannon: Edger and Cooper's performance on Sunday. Yeah, I thought he was lights out, you know, he's all over the place Deployed him a couple different ways made a lot of plays for us. So he definitely impacted the game in a positive way.
Gannon: Come in different shapes and sizes and skill sets. What is it about him that really stands out? well, he's He's he's a big man. He has a lot of length. He can run he's fast And he's violent, you know so he's can really when you look at skill set for a linebacker like He can tackle he can cover he can blitz, you know, he sees things extremely quickly And I just think his explosiveness to get off the spot once the ball declares You know, I always say a job of a linebacker hit the ball now they have rules and things that they have to use and and you know abide by But he can do that. He can when he sees the ball he can go hit the ball.
Gannon: Yeah for us it's to me like penalties kind of I try to group it with our guys of three ways and it's it's education technique decision-making And so we look at all of them we look at different plays that weren't called that, you know, we we just you try to kind of Show your guys situations that things come up that they're looking for How can we improve and if you learn from it and you move on?
Gannon: Thank you Cooper. Um, once upon a time Don Capers is here He had Charles Woodson when he was a guy you can move to here there in anywhere get back to game Obviously, that's not Cooper's different position, but you kind of view him in the same way as a guy who could You know make a play here in this role and they can play in that role.
Gannon: Okay move them all over to I do I think he has a multiple skill set And I think we have to deploy him to affect the game And when I say deploy him what I mean, it's a good question. What I mean by that is is use him in different spots.
Gannon: About how to tackle the quarterback, you know, you got the penalty On the hit by the phone. What do you tell them how to handle that? Yeah, they they you know, they're versed on how what's legal when you hit the quarterback And and you talk about it, you know, every time we get a chance to hit the quarterback you talk about it.
Gannon: How would you describe Nixon's impact on the game? Yeah, I play extremely well, you know I mean he impacted the run game the past game his point of attack was very good You know and he had some tough downs in there, which I thought he did a really good job Was very proud of Kishan how he played.
Gannon: If you think of see say his first go at it same as I thought he did some really good things like they it was cool because Not to get too schematic, but we had to make some adjustments, you know throughout the week And when you make adjustments throughout the week going in to play an opponent You want to see if you guys can take that to the grass so like, you know, it could be as simple as you know, where his alignment is or Where his eyes are that's different kind of than standard operating procedures, you know And I thought our DB coaches did a really good job of getting those guys prepped with how he wanted to play I thought they did a good job.
Gannon: You're a rookie in first NFL game You got a jump ball situation against maybe the best of the league and Jefferson some of that I guess is probably to be expected right? But what's the teaching point for him? He's just told him how he can find the ball locate the ball a little bit better there Just by his body position.
Gannon: JG knowing him the way you do now having been around him Like Ryan saying I mean Justin Jefferson Scott touchdowns on a lot of great players How do you see him bouncing back from that one play both in the game and then moving?
Gannon: Yeah talking that night and then yesterday, I guess He's wired the right way.
Gannon: You mentioned some of the adjustments to the past rush that were made throughout the game. Just how'd you think that collective unit performed? Pretty good, you know, I always think we can do everything better which obviously when you give up that many points We got to do a lot better But I thought that for the first game out there For that extended period of time for the guys that were out there rushing Did a pretty good job, you know And there's a couple of times that we showed where it was where is really good and where we can improve and then also that Goes with that a couple third bounds. I thought that were converted The back ends got to do a little bit better, you know, so it's it's kind of rushing cover with as it goes.
Gannon: Talking about the versatility with Adrien with Kishon his first snap. He has a TFL the second he has a pick First and after the second half he forces in a completion with the hit like for a corner that has that type of versatility You can be using that many different ways. How much value is there in that? A Lot of value, you know, I do think that You know certain calls can come in and just because they're good on paper. It's players not plays to me So I always try to keep that in mind.
Gannon: What what are we asking our guys to do and are we putting them in a position that they can be successful if what we think Is gonna happen or could happen that comes up, you know I mean it does you no good to blitz a corner if he can't make a tackle on the back one-on-one Well, he did the first play, you know, I mean so a lot of confidence our guys the positions that we're putting them in That they can go execute and make plays.
Gannon: Yeah, I think it's it's more about trying to you know, it's not just one guy when you do that with Coop or Kishon or anybody It's how it impacts the whole unit. I think that first by who you're defending But then yeah, like I said, I think that we want to try to utilize our guys skill sets in as many ways as we can And I think that can help Add a layer of pressure to the offense not pressure as far as pressure But that's a different layer for the offense that they have to prepare for.
Gannon: You know it's Obviously hired me work for him for three years. He's one of the best football coaches one of the best men I know in the NFL I owe a lot to him. He has been awesome to me and my family But it's it's been really cool to see now that he's you know back in this seat And I know it's you have the preseason in the one game But how he has adapted, you know, and I there's some staples that I smile as we're watching the tape I'm like, oh there it is, you know, but then there's some other things. Whoa Where did that come from? You know that I'm not used to seeing now that was back a long time ago But 18 19 20 I guess we're in 2026 now But you see some of those concepts that show up that I'm used to and you see some other things, too It's like the guy studies he puts time on task He's smart and just like all of us are trying to do he does a really good job of deploying what he has with his guys And getting on the ball in some good situations. So big-time challenge to go up against him, especially early in the year.
Gannon: Cam was just in here telling us about like he did a study about how far balls bounce And how many times a high analytical guy, I'm not To work with.
Gannon: Well, yeah, he's highly analytical high C on his disc test the I've never seen his results, but I bet he's a high C guy Yeah, he's extremely detailed You know what I mean? And he even if you ask him a question he has the answer and it's it's a studied answer.
Gannon: Obviously your defenders had all offseason getting reps and training camp So but in this first regular season game some of the more basic components the alignment assignment stuff Just how do you think that they handle that? I did I did I thought You know and again that the and every week's that's why I told them We got a reset every week's a different challenge with kind of a new set of circumstances, right? Because you're playing a different opponent. So, you know You might not we were probably we might not look like we looked week one You know what I mean because of the opponent now But I thought from as far as a communication standpoint of us kind of the first thing I looked at did we bust any coverages? You know We can always play coverage is a little bit better certain times, but we didn't bust any coverages Did we have a ton of mental errors? We didn't really have a lot of mental errors We're all on the same page where the guys then you go to each individual player Each guy has a couple things that they need to work on the first step pad level hands I discipline whatever it is, but I thought that from an alignment Assignment a key where they're looking at and a technique standpoint It was it was pretty good week one, you know from from my eye You know after watching it with the coaches and watching with the players But as always a lot to improve on.
Gannon: You know what's the challenge that you basically with you know, yeah, I mean he's it's uh, he's a good player man Like, you know, you're not gonna trick him. He's he's a very intelligent He's obviously got a huge arm and he's he's a mobile guy even being a little later in his career He can beat you with his legs. So You know, you got to be careful about doing certain things to him because when he gets out He can generate explosives with his legs. So I've always been a big fan of Gino. He always plays well for whatever reason Against me or us or whoever I'm with So big-time challenge ahead.
Gannon: When somebody when a player you've coached a long time So when a player makes a mistake that you know, he knows better on like you can't jump offsides on that Right, how do you how do you go about teaching that because they know they screwed up So yeah Make sure that our focus is the right Is focused on the right things at that point in time and you know, it's so cliche But you know the whole play the next play all that stuff like you really do got to focus in one play at a time and Every situation that comes up in a game the game within the game if you will We got to be detailed out we got to be on it, you know, we really got to do a better job of that.
Gannon: Jonathan there was one play I think second quarter where Karl Brooks is lined up outside Left guard and then he comes under takes the center and pushes them into Carson. I think he switched with hard grave How much of a force can that guy be for you put to put pressure on the quarterback through the middle? Yeah, all our interior guys, you know, I you know interior pass rush is a huge thing to me because you know If you can collapse the middle of the pocket That's in the quarterbacks lap. So like from you know playing quarterback. Yes edge rush is cool But if it doesn't sync up with what's happening in front of him He just steps up or steps out of it and it's no big deal right there verse that doing that quarterbacks, right? Well when you collapse the middle of the pocket, he can't go this way So you kind of eliminate where he can step up to so I thought our guys did a good job and that'll always be an emphasis obviously affect the quarterback, right a key philosophy of defense on pass-downs, but When you can do it both from out here and really in here I think that's a that's a tool that we have to be able to execute and use to affect the passer.
Gannon: How did you start to think that way because good? He said that you guys kept more defensive tackles than he normally would because of how important that is to you When did you kind of get that philosophy? Yeah In my opinion, I don't know if this is right or wrong in my opinion Offenses have more tools to handle that rush edge rush than they do interior.
