The Green Bay Packers added Jonathan Gannon as their defensive coordinator this offseason. On Wednesday, the Packers continued to fill out their defensive staff under Gannon.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the Packers are hiring Bobby Babich as their defensive pass game coordinator. Babich will also coach the team’s secondary in some capacity.
The defensive assistant is heading to Green Bay after nine seasons under Sean McDermott with the Buffalo Bills. Babich served as defensive coordinator in Buffalo the past two seasons.
The Packers are hiring Babich after losing three defensive assistants this offseason. Former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins next head coach.
Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and linebackers coach Sean Duggan followed Hafley to Miami.
Packers Hiring Bobby Babich Under New DC Jonathan Gannon: Report
One of the biggest responsibilities head coach Matt LaFleur has this offseason is replenishing his defensive staff. The Dolphins have poached three of their coaches and could possibly add more.
Babich, though, could go a long way to replacing those lost position coaches. Babich may partially fill Downard’s absence, coaching defensive backs.
He started with the Bills as an assistant defensive backs coach. During his second season in 2018, Babich became safeties coach. He coached that position group from 2018-21 and then served as Bills linebackers coach from 2022-23.
As defensive coordinator, Babich led the Bills to the No. 7 overall defensive ranking in 2025. The unit finished 12th in points allowed and 15th in takeaways as well.
Babich began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kent State at 23 years old. He then coached defensive backs at Eastern Illinois from 2007-10.
In 2011, he held his first NFL job with the Carolina Panthers as an administrative coaching assistant. Babich became assistant defensive backs coach for the Panthers in 2012.
From 2013-15, Babich held the same role — assistant defensive backs coach — for the Cleveland Browns. He joined the Bills staff in 2017 a year after coaching defensive backs at Florida International.
Other Coaches Packers Could Hire
A day prior to the Packers adding Babich to their coaching staff, A to Z Sports’ Wendell Ferreira named a former defensive coordinator a Green Bay target. But it wasn’t Babich.
“Nick Rallis is still technically under contract with the Cardinals, but he should be allowed to look for other opportunities without many issues,” wrote Ferreira. “He was the Eagles’ linebackers coach in 2021 and 2022, and Gannon brought him to the Cardinals as a defensive coordinator.”
Just because the Packers hired Babich, though, doesn’t mean they couldn’t still add Rallis. The former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator previously coached linebackers under Gannon in Philadelphia. The linebackers coaching role is still open in Green Bay because of Duggan’s Dolphins departure.
Gannon has relationships with a few other intriguing potential targets for the Packers, including Matt Eberflus. Not only is Eberflus a former defensive coordinator, he previously was the head coach for the Chicago Bears.
Eberflus might not be a fit as a senior defensive assistant anymore in Green Bay because of Babich’s arrival. But that likely depends on what other opportunities Eberflus might receiver around the league.
In Hafley’s first season as Packers defensive coordinator, Green Bay was fifth in yards allowed and sixth in points yielded.
During 2025, injuries eroded the Packers defense late in the season. The unit ended last season 11th in points allowed and 12th in yards yielded.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Packers Add Former Defensive Coordinator Under Jonathan Gannon: Report appeared first on Heavy Sports.