Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley is expected to become the new defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, sources told ESPN.

Hafley has gone 22-26 in four seasons at Boston College, bringing them to bowl eligibility in three of his four years. Boston College finished 7-6 this year with a win over No. 22 SMU in the Fenway Bowl.

Hafley has resisted prior NFL coaching opportunities in the past. But his reasons for taking this coordinator job are rooted in both the overall state of college football and the opportunity to work for one of the NFL's most respected franchises.

"He wants to go coach football again in a league that is all about football," a source told ESPN. "College coaching has become fundraising, NIL and recruiting your own team and transfers. There's no time to coach football anymore.

"A lot of things that he went back to college for have disappeared."

Hafley becomes the third sitting college head coach to leave on his accord this year for a coordinator job. He follows South Alabama's Kane Wommack and Buffalo's Maurice Linguist. They both took coordinator jobs at Alabama, and the moves speak to the gap between the top-tier schools pulling away from the others in terms of resources. That's only been magnified in this era of Name, Image and Likeness deals being critical to recruiting and roster retention.

The future of the Packers proved a significant allure to Hafley, as they have a strong young core and bright future. He's a longtime friend of Packers coach Matt LaFleur and long-timer admirer of the Packers franchise.

He'll replace Joe Barry and be the third different defensive coordinator as LaFleur enters his sixth year as the franchise's head coach.

While LaFleur and Hafley have never directly worked together, they have some mutual connections. Hafley was the Browns defensive backs coach in 2014-15 under then head coach Mike Pettine, who was LaFleur's first defensive coordinator in Green Bay (2019-20). Hafley also worked for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, one of LaFleur's mentors. Hafley was the 49ers defensive backs coach from 2016-18 before he became Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator.

The rest of the Packers defensive coach staff is under contract for the 2024 season and none of them was let go when the Packers parted ways with Barry. So there's a good chance some -- or all -- of them could return to work under Hafley.

Hafley is a veteran NFL assistant coach who worked seven years in the NFL coaching various secondary positions before returning to college football as Ohio State's defensive coordinator in 2019.

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ESPN wrote:

The Green Bay Packers have named Jeff Hafley defensive coordinator. Head Coach Matt LaFleur made the announcement Wednesday.

"We are excited to welcome Jeff, his wife, Gina, and their daughters, Hope and Leah, to the Packers and the Green Bay community," added LaFleur. "Jeff has had success at every stop of his coaching career with an impressive track record of developing players at every level. We look forward to him leading our defense"

Hafley comes to the Packers after working as the head coach for Boston College for the past four seasons (2020-23), where he led the Eagles to bowl eligibility in three of his four years. In 2021, the defense ranked No. 3 nationally in passing yards allowed (173.5 per game) and also were top-30 nationally in total defense, red-zone defense, first downs allowed, third-down percentage, team passing efficiency and defensive touchdowns. The Eagles also led the ACC in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards.

Prior to his time at BC, Hafley was the co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach for Ohio State in 2019. In his one season in Columbus, he was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Award and the 247 Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year. Hafley helped the Buckeye defense rank No. 1 nationally in yards per play, No. 2 in total defense and passing yards allowed, No. 3 in scoring defense and sacks, No. 7 in rushing defense and No. 1 in red-zone defense. The Buckeyes registered 15 interceptions in 2019, tied for No. 9 in the nation, while allowing just 25 pass plays of 20-plus yards.

Before his time at Ohio State, Hafley spent seven seasons as an NFL assistant coach. The Montvale, N.J., native worked as a defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers (2016-18) and Cleveland Browns (2014-15). In 2018, the 49ers ranked No. 11 in the NFL in passing defense and were No. 14 in 2016 after ranking No. 27 the year before Hafley arrived. He first coached in the NFL as an assistant defensive backs coach for Tampa Bay in 2012 and then was the secondary/safeties coach for the Buccaneers in 2013.

Prior to his move to the NFL, Hafley spent 11 seasons as a college coach. After starting his career as the running backs coach at Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute, he moved on to the University of Albany for four seasons as a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach (2002-05). Hafley then coached at Pittsburgh for five seasons (2006-10), where he worked with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, who was a Jim Thorpe Award finalist in 2006. Hafley was a defensive assistant/cornerbacks coach in 2006-07 and was secondary coach from 2008-10. He spent one season (2011) as the defensive backs coach at Rutgers, helping the Scarlet Knights rank No. 9 nationally in passing defense. Hafley helped develop future NFL standout defensive backs Duron Harmon and Logan Ryan during his time at Rutgers.

https://www.packers.com/news/packers-name-jeff-hafley-defensive-coordinator