It’s not often that a sitting head coach — especially one at a Power Five school — leaves to become a coordinator elsewhere. Yet, that’s exactly what has happened with Boston College Eagles head coach Jeff Hafley.
According to multiple reports, Hafley is expected to return to the NFL where he’ll take the defensive coordinator position with the Green Bay Packers.
Boston College’s Jeff Hafley To Join Packers
Hafley has been head coach of the Eagles since 2020 when he took over a 6-7 BC team. Despite being amid a global pandemic during his first season, he led the Eagles to a winning record.
Hafley has a history in the NFL, starting when he became a defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. After stops in Cleveland and San Francisco, Hafley returned to the college ranks as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2019. From there, he was hired by Boston College in 2020.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to report the news.
Hafley is reportedly leaving partially due to the state of college football. According to ESPN source close to the head coach, he is moving partially “he wants to coach again in a league that is all about football.”
However, other sources have stated that this could be more about finding the best fit for Hafley.
The new Packers defensive coordinator is quoted as saying he’s tired of the constant recruiting, fundraising, and player retention that college head coaches now face, something that has become more difficult with the condensed December transfer window.
That being said, he also has history in the league and the opportunity to coach for the Packers certainly played a factor.
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It will be his first opportunity as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.
The Eagles will now begin their search for its 41st head coach just one week before the National Signing Period, although the importance of the first Wednesday in February has waned in recent years.
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