The Green Bay Packers may have just opened the door for the New York Giants to hire Denver Broncos pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard as their defensive coordinator, should that be what head coach John harbaugh wants to do.
The Packers are hiring former Arizona Cardinals head coach and Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to replace Jeff Hafley, who is now head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Leonhard, a Wisconsin legend as a player and as a defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, was considered to be a leading candidate for the Green Bay job.
Another Wisconsin legend was pushing for the Packers to hire Leonhard.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur, though, chose to hire Gannon now rather than wait for Leonhard. The Broncos, of course, are playing the New England Patriots on Sunday to see which team will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl on Feb. 8. If the Broncos win, Leonhard would not be available to join a new team until after the Super Bowl.
LaFleur decided to move now, and that appears to leave the Giants with all of their primary targets for the job — Leonhard, Anthony Weaver, Dennard Wilson, Daronte Jones — still available. There has also been some discussion of Harbaugh being willing to consider Rex Ryan, out of coaching since 2016, for the defensive coordinator role.
