Jeff Hafley Adapting is Packers’ Most Pressing Defensive Question

The Green Bay Packers made some major changes to their roster during the 2024 NFL offseason. But, the shakeup with their defensive coaching staff, hiring Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator, is what people are keeping a very close eye on.

Jeff Hafley is making the jump back to the NFL after spending four seasons as head coach at Boston College. He was defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers for seven seasons from 2012-2018 before heading back to the college ranks.

In the opinion of Mike Jones of The Athletic, the biggest question facing the Packers’ defense is how Jeff Hafley handles the jump to NFL defensive coordinator. Having head coaching experience will certainly help, but in the NFL he has no coaching experience above being a positional coach.

“…The Packers have the talent to rank among the top 10 units. Hafley must figure out the best way to maximize what his players have to offer,” wrote Jones.

Maximizing the talent on the roster is something the previous defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, sometimes struggled with. At times, there was a disconnect between the kind of scheme the Packers ran and the strengths of the players.

As Jones noted in his blurb, some of the team’s key defensive pieces in 2023 regressed from previous seasons. Injuries certainly played a part, as the secondary was hit hard, leading to inexperienced and young players being thrust into major roles.

But, Jeff Hafley is going to have a lot of talent to work with. General manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the major needs defensively, revamping the safety position and adding linebackers to fit the switch to a 4-3 base defense.

Hopefully, the baseline for this defense is higher as Jeff Hafley calls a more aggressive attacking style of defense than the read-and-react of Barry. But, what will take this unit to the next level is the development of young guys such as Lukas Van Ness, Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard.