A JERSEY GUY: BC Got The Right Guy At The Right Time

The story has floated in coaching circles for more than a decade. It is a tale of a young coach with ambition and determination to reach his destination.

It was the summer of 2005 and Jeff Hafley was living one of his passions--becoming a football coach.

He was a kid from of North Jersey who played four years as a wide receiver at Siena College in Albany, New York before working his way through the coaching system in assistant positions at Worcester (Ma.) Poly Tech and at at Albany. He wanted to consume as much knowledge as possible so he spent his free time and extra money attending coaching clinics held by FBS schools.

Hafley focused on Pittsburgh, a member of the Big East, which was then being coached by Dave Wannstedt.

Wannstedt and his staff held various clinics throughout the Northeast and Hafley was a regular, absorbing as much as he could, which drew the attention of the Pitt coaching staff.

They told Wannstedt that this kid "knew more about the Pitt defensive scheme than we do'' and that Wannstedt should hire him.

Which he did in 2006.

That was all it took to ignite the flame as Hafley's coaching career expanded and advanced at Pitt and then Rutgers, where he was introduced to Greg Schiano, who rebuilt the program before being lured to Tampa Bay in National Football League.

Schiano brought Hafley with him even though he had only been part of his Rutgers staff for one season.

Hafley, who turned 40 in April, lasted longer in the NFL than Schiano, who was fired after two seasons. Hafley moved to the Cleveland Browns and then to the San Francisco 49ers, where he connected with another young coach with ambitions: Ryan Day.

Day had made two stops at BC during his coaching career and made a connection with Hafley, which he remembered when Day became became head coach at Ohio State last winter after Urban Meyer retired.

Hafley came to Ohio State as a co-defensive coordinator, but he also had a label, which Day clarified during a press conference this season.

"He can be an All-Star,'' said Day. "I think Jeff is an All-Star. I thought that when he was at Rutgers and at Pitt. I felt like that when I worked him in the NFL. I feel like that now.''

And now Boston College has him, maybe in the way Oklahoma had a young Bob Stoops after the school plucked him from Steve Spurrier's Florida staff two decades ago.

Hafley has Jersey connections and a pedigree in a talent-rich area.

Hafley explained his Jersey heritage to Letterman Row (Columbus, Ohio) earlier this season.

"We listen to Bruce Springsteen and we like bagels and pizza,'' he said.""I know a lot of the guys in that area. I grew up with a lot of those guys. I know a lot of those guys that are coaches now and who were coaches even when I played in high school.''

One of those coaches was Bill McGovern, another Jersey guy, a former defensive coordinator at BC. "I know Jeff well,'' said McGovern, who is currently the linebacker coach with the New York Giants. "Good kid out of Pascack Hills High. Good guy, good recruiter.''

In his interview with Letterman Row, Hafley also explained his Jersey roots. "New Jersey people stick together,'' he said. "and we understand each other. I know it sounds cliche, but if you're not from there, you may not understand. It's more than where we're from. It's who we are.''

On Monday, at a pep rally on campus, BC will get a better idea of who Jeff Hafley is and what he wants from himself and BC. He will win the press conference and then he will spend a few more days at The Heights before finishing his business at Ohio State, which is very much in the mix to win a national championship.

There is a lot to fix at BC, but there is also reason for a lot of hope, primarily because former BC coach Steve Addazio left more than enough talent to win seven games each season and because beyond Clemson, the ACC is not a conference filled with sharks at this time.

This recruiting season is just about over and BC needs a quarterback, a kicker and help defensively. The quarterback need is serious and Hafley almost certainly will be forced to go into the graduate transfer pool to find a QB.

Aside from filling his staff, which he can do from Columbus, getting a QB is the No. 1 priority and should be done in the next few weeks.

Don't be surprised if Hafley first checks the Big Ten transfer portal list, with a strong possibility that Indiana QB Peyton Ramsey is targeted if he makes a decision to transfer.

Ramsey, a 6-2, 216 pound junior, lost his job to red-shirt freshman Michael Penix at the start of the Hoosiers season, but regained it after Penix suffered a season-ending injury.

Ramsey's uncertain status for next year could send him to the transfer portal--and BC. He is not in the transfer portal--yet.

Another potential transfer could be Michigan wide receiver Tarik Black, a 6-3, 215 pound junior from Connecticut, who has entered the transfer portal.

Both players would make the BC offensive more effective.

After that, it is a matter of building a foundation that should be solid.

BC athletic director Martin Jarmond did what he said he wanted to do after he fired Addazio two weeks ago. He found a coach who can bring BC into the realm of a Top 25 team on a regular basis.

And he did it with a Jersey guy.

All BC now needs is a little "Born to Run'' playing in the locker room and pizza and bagels being served.