GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There's no book on what a Jonathan Gannon defense looks like, at least that's how the Green Bay Packers' new defensive coordinator sees it.
So much so that he claims he doesn't have a scheme, or at least not one that he's married to.
It's a strategy he's used with varying degrees of success -- the defense he coordinated with the Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl and led the NFL in sack percentage in 2022, but it didn't translate into success during a three-year run as the Arizona Cardinals' head coach that ended with his firing after a 15-36 record and a defense that finished 31st, 15th and 29th in points allowed.
And it's an approach he sold Packers coach Matt LaFleur on when it came to replacing Jeff Hafley, who parlayed a two-year run as Green Bay's defensive coordinator into the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins.
"Before scheme, I truly believe it's not what you play, it's how you play," Gannon said this week in his first comments since he was hired three months ago. "Matt calls it play style. I love that.
"So that's been cool with our guys, to define that for them. Here's the expectation. Here's what you're accountable for. We're all accountable for it because I think that's what a good defense looks like -- a fast, violent, physical team that takes the ball away."
It's why he used the same line with LaFleur as the one he used when he interviewed for the Philadelphia defensive coordinator job with Nick Sirianni in 2021, when he told the Eagles coach that he didn't have a scheme.
Sirianni's response?
"He probably laughed," Gannon said. "He said, 'You'd better get one."
LaFleur wasn't quite as rigid after putting Gannon through two days of interviews before settling on him as his new defensive coordinator.
"I think the one thing I loved about J.G. is the flexibility within the scheme to do whatever we need to do to try to throw wrinkles at an offense," LaFleur said earlier this offseason.
Said Gannon: "The point is, Matt [sees the] same thing honestly. The point is the game, it adapts. I don't really get caught up in 4-3, 3-4. We're an NFL-style defense, hopefully, right? I just believe that you've got to continually every year try to adapt and solve problems with your guys in mind."
Officially, Gannon's base scheme will be a 3-4 front, which differs from Hafley's 4-3 scheme, but don't hold Gannon to that. Even Hafley's scheme changed over his two seasons. Which is why what the Packers run this season might not look exactly like what the Eagles' defense did or the Cardinals' or any other place where Gannon worked before.
"It really is the truth when I tell you guys this is going to be a new system this year," Gannon said. "It's the 2026 Green Bay Packers. It's awesome, to me. It's fun."
Gannon's point is schemes and game plans must play to the strengths of the players.
"Yeah, there are some principles, there are some things I like to do, but it's only if our players can do it," Gannon said. "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."
For Micah Parsons, it could mean moving around even more than he did last season, when 84.5% of his defensive snaps came lined up on the edge, according to ESPN Research.
"He's obviously a piece we're going to be mindful of when we're putting together the scheme, especially when you get to game planning," Gannon said.
Players such as Parsons and veteran safety Xavier McKinney played a significant role in Gannon's decision to come to the Packers. Meanwhile, general manager Brian Gutekunst's acquisition of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and linebacker Zaire Franklin were made, in part, because Gannon endorsed them after being with them on other teams.
"They got a lot of talent," Gannon said. "Matt and Gutey, the whole personnel side, has done a really good job. They've done a really good job in my opinion of acquiring talent. Good players. It's a good mix of some younger players, we got some vets that are some really good players. That sweet spot.
"McKinney, I think about, who's been playing forever because he's such a high-performing vet, but he's still pretty young. And then you got some guys that are younger and in their first contract that have played really good football. We should have a chance."