Career reboots: Vikings' Murray faces Packers' Gannon

The beauty of the NFL's opening weekend is the unknown.

With no tape to study of previous games, the Green Bay Packers will have to guess how the Minnesota Vikings might deploy new quarterback Kyler Murray on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS). The Vikings, in turn, can only project how new Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will scheme to stop them.

That Murray played for Gannon from 2023 to 2025, when Gannon was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, is mere coincidence in what might be the determinative schematic battle of the game.

"I'd say he knows exactly, probably, what [Murray] likes and doesn't like," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Gannon. "But it's a different scheme, a different system. There's 10 other guys out there, and I think that's a pretty good supporting cast he's got around him. There's a lot of playmakers out there. I think their O-line is one of the better O-lines in the league, so they've got a lot of talent around him."

Sunday's game represents a fresh start for both parties.

They were a coach-QB pairing for three years, which ended after last season. Murray did not play after Week 5 because of a foot injury, and Gannon was fired after going 15-36 in his first NFL head coaching job.

Gannon landed in Green Bay to replace defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who became the Miami Dolphins' head coach. Murray signed with the Vikings after the Cardinals released him in March and won a training camp competition with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job.

Thursday, Murray called Gannon "one of my favorite coaches. ... Transparent. Believed in his players no matter the circumstances."

Not long after the preseason ended and attention turned fully to the opener, LaFleur was asked how much he will rely on Gannon to prepare for Murray and the Vikings.

"I think J.G. is leaning on J.G. to prepare for that," LaFleur said.

Murray displayed his live arm and elite open-field ability during Minnesota's training camp this summer, but his most notable struggles came when facing heavy pressure. By coincidence -- or perhaps not -- those present for Packers training camp were struck by how regularly Gannon's defenders were working on their blitz packages.

Gannon could have taken a year off after he was let go by the Cardinals. He had two years left on his contract and would have been paid handsomely to do nothing. Another year in Arizona and it would match the longest he's lived in one place since his first NFL coaching job with the Falcons in 2007.

Instead, he waited exactly 20 days to take another job.

"Very grateful for the opportunity," Gannon said this week. "Put all our energy and effort into maximizing it, I know that."

Some vagabond coaches prefer to set up a home base in one place and let their family have some sense of stability in an unstable business. Not Gannon. His wife, Gina, and their three children, Rocco, Lola and Angelo, moved with him in an indication that his stay in Green Bay might be more than a one-year stint.

"My eighth NFL city," Gannon said as a matter of fact.

"They're here, they're loving life," Gannon said of his family. "They're loving life. ... School's been awesome. It's been good."

LaFleur loved the idea of having another head coach on his staff, something he previously had with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, even if Bisaccia was only interim head coach of the Raiders for part of a season.

LaFleur did not set out to hire Hafley 2.0 despite the success Hafley, the former Boston College head coach, had in his two seasons with the Packers before he was hired by the Dolphins.

"I had a pretty good idea of the man we were getting when we got him," LaFleur said of Gannon. "He understands football. He understands offensive football, which I think is imperative when you're in one of those roles -- you'd better know the other side of the ball. And he understands the importance of trying to give similar looks and have different things off of that.

"So I think he does a great job. He's a great communicator. He holds these guys to a high standard now."

From the players' perspective, the transition from Hafley to Gannon has been smooth. As well-liked as Hafley was, players have taken to Gannon just as quickly. Player after player has raved about Gannon's energy, innovation and scheme.

No one seems to care about the lack of success by Gannon in Arizona.

"I see why they [brought] him in here," Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon said.

If one thing has stood about Gannon so far, it's his willingness to adjust.

His defenses in Arizona, run by coordinator Nick Rallis, did not feature much blitzing. In fact, the Cardinals had the lowest blitz rate in the league among the 32 teams during Gannon's first season (2023) and then ranked 17th and 19th in blitz rate the following two seasons. When Gannon was the coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles, his defenses ranked 30th and 22nd in blitz rate.

Yet the most noticeable thing about Gannon's defense this summer in training camp was how often -- and with so many different players -- that he blitzed. Gannon blitzed linebackers Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin up the middle, brought cornerbacks off the edge and safeties from the slot.

Murray's struggles against the Vikings' blitz packages in camp are relevant and reflect his performance against it in recent seasons. Looking at a recent sample size, beginning with the 2024 season, Murray's QBR against the blitz (65) is slightly below the NFL average (69).

In Minnesota this summer, public attention focused more on McCarthy's fate and future than it did on Murray, the 2019 No. 1 draft pick, who is seeking a career restart at age 29. As the page turns to the regular season, with McCarthy now positioned as the No. 3 quarterback, Murray will take center stage.

He begins with a clean slate after seven years of mixed reviews with the Cardinals, as the Vikings' veteran roster absorbed him in ways that a less-established group might not have. Known in Arizona as an introvert, Murray has found ways to connect -- and direct -- players from receiver Justin Jefferson to running back Aaron Jones Sr.

"He has a different way of leading," Jones said. "He'll come and wrap his arms around you on the side. Give you some words, get on the same page, different things like that. It might not be to everybody [at once], but he's making sure he's getting his words in to each and everybody, one by one. You get a little more of a personal relationship like that."

Murray told ESPN earlier this month that he hoped to make 2026 his "best season ever" and could not stop smiling this week when asked about Sunday's matchup.

"I don't know how many years I played football," he said Thursday, "[but] this has got to be right up there for most anticipated. I can't tell you how excited and ready I am just to be on the field again."

Gannon kept his comments vanilla when asked about Murray early in the week.

"Really good player," Gannon said of his former quarterback. "He's in a really good offense with some elite players. Obviously I've got nothing but love and respect for K1. He's competitive, he's smart, can make all the throws, and beat you with his legs. So big time challenge."

As this week went on and the final touches were being placed on the game plan, Packers players could tell this was a different kind of week because of their coordinator's connection to the opposing quarterback. They left little doubt that Gannon has given them some extra notes on Murray.

"He gives a lot of respect to that quarterback, I'll say that much, as he should," Packers safety Evan Williams said. "He's done some great things in this league. He does a lot with his feet, is able to extend plays, is able to make plays on the run.

"A guy like that isn't a first overall pick for nothing. So a lot of respect for him, but JG got answers. He's always got answers. We're looking forward to seeing some of those on Sunday."