LATEST NEWS:Packers Appoint Former Boston College Coach as Head of Defense

It took the Green Bay Packers hardly a week to find a new defensive coordinator.

After Joe Barry was sacked on January 24, there was much conjecture about who would take over the defense until the Packers hired Jeff Hafley, the former head coach of the Boston College Eagles, on January 31.

While ESPN’s Pete Thamel said that Hafley and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur have been “longtime friends” but had never collaborated, Sports Illustrated’s Packers Central referred to the hiring as a “curveball.”

Hafley, 44, has more than 20 years of experience coaching football. In 2001, he was hired as the Division III Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s running backs coach, which was his first coaching position. In 2002, Hafley relocated to the University of Albany, where he was employed as a defensive assistant once again. Hafley became a defensive coach in 2002 after rising through the college ranks.

There Has Been Some Defensive Success for Jeff Hafley
Hafley has coached in the NFL while spending the majority of his career as a collegiate coach. He coached defensive backs for the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Bucs, and Cleveland Browns. Hafley left the NFL after seven years to return to college, working as an assistant coach at Ohio State for a year until being hired as the head coach of Boston College in 2020.

Boston College was 74th in the country among Division I FBS teams with an average scoring defense of 28.3 points per game during the 2023 NCAA tournament. Additionally, they ranked 64th with an average of 383.9 yards allowed per game. Boston College’s run defense gave up 181.4 yards per game in 2023, which was a noticeably subpar performance. They were ranked 110th out of 134 FBS institutions as a result. They had far superior pass defense, though. They were 31st in the FBS in yards allowed per game, at just over 200.

Under Hafley’s leadership, Boston College had a 22–26 record in four years. They had their greatest season in 2023, finishing 7-6 and defeating SMU in the Fenway Bowl.

Hafley had a mediocre defensive record at Boston College, but he had a tremendous season at Ohio State as the co-defensive coordinator. Ohio State’s average of 259.7 yards allowed per game was the best in the country for total defense. They let up the fourth-fewest points per game and had the strongest pass defense in college football.

According to a source cited by Thamel, Hafley had grown disenchanted with the college game’s fundraising system, transfer portal, and name, image, and likeness business.

Thamel reported that the insider claimed there was no longer time to coach football. “He returned to college for a lot of things, but those things have vanished.”

Social Media Responses
Many Packers supporters were surprised that Hafley was hired, given the availability of several well-known NFL coaches, most notably Dennard Wilson of the Baltimore Ravens, who coaches their defensive backs.

A fan asked, “Does anyone know anything about him?” in response to the Packers’ X-ray announcement of Hafley’s hiring.

“Head scratcher. Hasn’t done very well as a HC either. They’re really reaching,” one X user commented.