Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has faced frequent criticism for his coaching hires, and most of it has been fair. On special teams, he went from Shawn Mennenga to Maurice Drayton before landing on Rich Bisaccia. On defense, he replaced fired defensive coordinator Mike Pettine with Joe Barry, a move that never worked out. Jeff Hafley was a good hire, but for the most part, LaFleur has had a tough time choosing coordinators.

The 2026 cycle is a different story. Through six weeks, LaFleur’s new hires have been excellent, and they are already producing results for the Packers.

Jonathan Gannon has transformed the defense

The first hire, and certainly the most impactful one, is defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator and Arizona Cardinals head coach has been fantastic.

The numbers might not even do justice to what the unit has accomplished. Early in the season, the offense put the defense in bad spots. Field position was poor, and the defense spent too much time on the field. Now that the offense has stabilized to a certain extent, the defense is showing what it can do.

Green Bay allowed only seven points to the Chicago Bears. On “Sunday Night Football,” the Packers held the Dallas Cowboys to 13 points, and Dallas had only seven until late in the fourth quarter, when the game was essentially decided.

Through six weeks, the Packers rank 12th in EPA per play. Through five weeks (the Week 6 data hasn’t been updated yet), they ranked eighth in defensive DVOA, which adjusts for schedule.

But more than that, Green Bay has done it without Micah Parsons, who is still recovering from his knee injury. Over the past two games, the defense has also played without linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, and it still performed at an extremely high level.

Bobby Babich and a well-coached secondary

Another defensive hire deserves credit: secondary coach and pass game coordinator Bobby Babich.

The Packers have plenty of talent at safety with Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard. What stands out, though, is how well the cornerbacks have played. Keisean Nixon has improved from last year. Brandon Cisse has been impactful as a rookie, and he looks very well coached.

That’s the common thread across the secondary. The communication has looked great, and the early returns on the staff LaFleur chose to run the defense are strong.

Cam Achord turns a forced change into an upgrade

The Packers also made a good decision on special teams, hiring Cam Achord to replace Rich Bisaccia.

Green Bay didn’t want to replace Bisaccia in the first place. He decided to leave the organization, and the timing was rough. The Packers entered the market late, when several top candidates were already off the board. Even so, they found a good one. The former New England Patriots special teams coordinator had spent the past few years as the New York Giants’ assistant special teams coach, and he has been a major upgrade.

Green Bay hovered around the top 10 in special teams DVOA early in the season. The unit dropped to 17th after the Bears game, mostly because of missed kicks. Still, the coaching has been effective. The group is executing much better and generating more in the return game.

Rookie kicker Trey Smack missed those kicks against Chicago, but he rebounded. Giving young players confidence after a rough outing is part of a coordinator’s job, and Smack went on to convert all five of his kicks against the Cowboys.

Early verdict on the new staff

The Packers had to replace several coaches heading into 2026, and not necessarily by choice. That kind of turnover could easily have set the team back.

Instead, the early indications are that LaFleur hired the right people. For a head coach whose coordinator choices have often drawn scrutiny, this staff has improved the overall outlook in Green Bay.