Falcons Request Interview with Packers Coach

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons have reportedly requested to speak with Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. This report was first made by NFL insider Albert Breer on Thursday evening.

This marks the sixth reported head coach request, and the fourth defensive-minded option.

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The Packers’ defensive play-caller led his unit to a solid 2025 season. They finished No. 12 in total defense, No. 11 in pass defense, and No. 10 in quarterback pressures.

Hafley has been coaching at the NFL level since 2012, when he broke into the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He then bounced around the league, with stops in Cleveland and San Francisco as a defensive backs coach, before heading back down to the college ranks in 2019. He served as the Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for one season before taking a head coaching position at Boston College.

He held the role at Boston College for three seasons, finishing with a 21-26 record, before moving to the NFL for his current role.

Atlanta, which joins with the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals in their request for an interview, will not be able to speak with Hafley until next week at the earliest.

Virtual interviews of up to three hours can begin on Jan. 13, except for candidates from Houston and Pittsburgh (Jan. 14, since they play on Monday night). In-person interviews for coaches under contract with other teams can begin on Jan. 19, except for those in conference title games.

Those coaches must wait until Jan. 26, until they are eliminated or have their bye week before the Super Bowl. Those assistants in the Super Bowl can be interviewed until Feb. 1, but they cannot have contact again until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. Additionally, coaches on those Super Bowl teams are barred from interviewing in person with other teams during the bye week, unless they have completed a virtual interview earlier in January.

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The Falcons are in the midst of a head coaching search, amid several organizational changes, and have now made multiple requests for candidates across the NFL.

Several candidates are expected to emerge for the team in the coming days and weeks, and Hafley is just the most recent in a long line of candidates that have emerged over the last few days.