Matt LaFleur Puts Himself in Spotlight With Bold Hiring of Jeff Hafley
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Drumroll, please!
The Green Bay Packers have made their most anticipated hire of the offseason with the selection of Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator.
The 44-year-old Hafley spent seven seasons coaching defensive backs in the NFL, most recently with Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers from 2016 through 2018.
He was part of Ohio State's top defense in 2019 before becoming Boston College's head coach for the last four seasons, where he compiled a record of 22-26
LaFleur's decision to hire Hafley, with whom he had no prior relationship, is a bit of a curveball.
After reported interviews of six NFL assistants who spent the 2023 season coaching professional football, LaFleur went back to the college ranks to find his next defensive coordinator.
No, not Jim Leonhard, whom the Packers reportedly offered the job to after the 2020 season.
Instead, it was a coach whose candidacy LaFleur successfully kept under wraps until shortly before the team made the hiring official on Wednesday night.
If you rewind to the end of the 2021 season, there was an obvious choice in front of LaFleur.
Mo Drayton's special teams were an abject disaster. They were the worst in the NFL. Depending on what measures you look at, they could even be called historically bad.
That culminated in a disastrous home playoff loss to an inferior San Francisco 49ers team that essentially ended Aaron Rodgers' chances at winning another Super Bowl in Green Bay.
Drayton's special teams were a problem all year. Use whatever superlative you want for that playoff game, and it would be accurate.
They had a field goal blocked just before halftime. They had a punt blocked that resulted in the 49ers' only touchdown. To add insult to injury, they only had 10 players on the field for Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal.
After going through two relatively inexperienced or unaccomplished coordinators in Drayton and Shawn Mennenga, LaFleur went with what was the most obvious choice on the market when he hired Rich Bisaccia.
Bisaccia was well respected in league circles and was garnering head coaching interest before the Las Vegas Raiders ultimately hired Josh McDaniels.
While that hire has not yielded the results they had hoped for, it was justified. LaFleur went with a well-respected coordinator to fix the biggest problem that ailed his team.
LaFleur's only hire on defense was the coach he just fired, Joe Barry.
After Leonhard spurned him, LaFleur pivoted to Barry, whom he crossed paths with in Los Angeles when both were working under Rams coach Sean McVay.
Barry's hire was uninspiring, to say the least.
The biggest line that stood out on his resume was being in charge of a Detroit defense that played a role in the Lions becoming the first team to finish with a winless season since the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule.
After three subpar years, LaFleur determined that Barry's efforts were not good enough and sought to get better.
His reasoning was sound. Letting Barry fight for his future in a transition year was justifiable.
Unless the bottom completely fell out in 2023, it was unlikely that LaFleur or Brian Gutekunst were going to be fired.
After all, 2023 was never about the 2023 season, but rather the future. Having patience with his entire staff made sense.
The reality now, is the Packers have laid their next foundation for greatness.
Jordan Love looks like the next franchise quarterback in Green Bay. The offense piled up points in the final month of the season, including a whopping 48 in a road playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Such a performance has opened a new Super Bowl window, perhaps even sooner than the franchise expected.
That's where LaFleur's hire of Hafley comes with a mountain of pressure.
Coaches only get so many opportunities to hire new coordinators. LaFleur was wrong to keep Mike Pettine. He was wrong to hire Drayton. He was wrong to hire Barry.
The Bisaccia-style hire of defensive coordinators could have been Don "Wink" Martindale, who was most recently with the New York Giants before they mutually parted ways this offseason. Martindale has been successful wherever he's been and is a big part of the defensive culture that was on display in Baltimore.
Martindale reportedly interviewed for the job according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Silverstein.
Instead of going with more of a sure thing, LaFleur went with a bold move.
Maybe Hafley will prove to be the right choice in the same way LaFleur was when he was hired as Green Bay's coach over candidates who were theoretically more qualified.
This move does, however, come with a risk.
That risk shines directly on LaFleur, who had autonomy in making this decision.
If the move works, the Packers should be well on their way to winning the franchise's fifth Lombardi Trophy.
If it doesn't, this could be the last time LaFleur is given the chance to hire a defensive coordinator in Green Bay.
