Jeff Hafley may be a little inconsistent with the Green Bay Packers in interviews, but his new defensive coordinator Matt LaFleur has found a coach who knows how to run a productive defense and lead a team.
Given Lafler’s additional duties as the Packers’ offensive coordinator, that type of experience should prove valuable for Green Bay. LaFleur has one of the most explosive young offenses in the league in 2023 and now has a defensive coordinator he trusts as the head coach of Green Bay’s defense. LaFleur hired Hafley, who had been the head coach for the past four seasons at Boston College.
BC isn’t necessarily known as a college football power these days, so Hafley has built a great program around him. He left Boston College with a 22-26 overall record, but the Eagles were bowl eligible in 2020, 2021 and 2023. What has been most consistent for the Packers is Hafley’s ability as a defensive coach. In 2021, his defense at Boston College ranked third in all of college football in yards allowed.
He was also co-coordinator/assistant defensive coach at Ohio State in 2019, where his defense ranked first nationally in yards allowed per game, second in total defense and third in punt defense score. That season, he was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant in college football. He was also named the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year.
Hafley was a strong defensive coach at the college level, but LaFleur would also be impressed with his NFL resume. Hafley was the defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2016 to 2018 and held the same position with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015.
He entered the league in 2012 as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 2013 middle/safeties coach. Hafley first began coaching in 2001 at Worcester Polytechnic. He also served as a college assistant at Albany, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.
