The Green Bay Packers made a surprising move last season when they fired defensive coordinator Joe Barry, despite making the NFC Divisional Round. That left Matt LaFleur with a void on his coaching staff.
Unlike most NFL coaches who look within the league or promote rising assistants, LaFleur took an unusual route into the college ranks. He didn’t hire a defensive coordinator from a school—he hired a head coach, bringing in Boston College’s Jeff Hafley.
Hafley was coming off his best season with the Eagles, leading them to a 7-6 record. In four years, he compiled a 22-26 overall mark, but there had been no real indication that he was on the hot seat. What ultimately led Hafley back to the NFL was his frustration with the current structure of college football.
“He wants to go coach football again in a league that is all about football,” a source told ESPN. “College coaching has become fundraising, NIL and recruiting your own team and transfers. There’s no time to coach football anymore.
“A lot of things that he went back to college for have disappeared.”
If Hafley helps lead the Packers back to the playoffs with a stingy defense, he may get his wish to become a head coach again.
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ESPN’s Rob Demovsky believes that out of the talented group of NFC North assistant coaches, Hafley leads the way to earn a head coaching job in 2026.
“He’s already been a head coach, albeit at the college level. He gave up the Boston College job to return to the NFL last season, and his impact in Green Bay was immediate,” Demovsky said.
“The Packers’ oft-shaky run defense allowed the seventh-fewest rushing yards in the NFL, its highest ranking in 15 years, and also was top 10 in fewest points allowed, yards allowed and takeaways. He already interviewed for at least one NFL head coaching job when the Jets brought him in this past offseason.”
Beyond his time with the Packers, Hafley has bounced around the NFL since 2012, mainly as a defensive backs coach, spending time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. Before becoming Boston College’s head coach, he served as a co-defensive coordinator with Ohio State in 2019.
It’s obvious that Hafley’s expertise lies in developing defensive backs. He may have his work cut out for him this season, though, especially after the Packers cut former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander.
But again, if Hafley can get the most out of Green Bay’s defense in 2025, that will only strengthen his case as one of the top head coaching candidates in the 2026 cycle.
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