Jeff Hafley
Green Bay Packers
Position:Defensive coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 (age 44)
Montvale, New Jersey, U.S.
Career information
High school:Pascack Hills (Montvale)
College:Siena
Career history
As a coach:
Head coaching record
Regular season:NCAA: 21–26 (.447)
Postseason:NCAA: 1–0 (1.000)
Career:NCAA: 22–26 (.458)
Coaching stats at PFR

Jeff Hafley (born April 4, 1979) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at Boston College from 2020 to 2023.

Early life and playing career

Raised in Montvale, New Jersey, Hafley played prep football at Pascack Hills High School.[1]

Hafley was a four-year letterman as a wide receiver on the Siena Saints football team from 1997 to 2000, and he graduated from Siena College in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in history. He earned a master's degree from the University at Albany, SUNY in 2003.[2]

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Before entering the NFL ranks, Hafley spent 11 years on the collegiate sidelines with coaching stints at Worcester Polytechnic (2001), Albany (2002–05), Pittsburgh (2006–10) and Rutgers (2011). While at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights were the ninth-ranked passing defense in the country; Duron Harmon earned first-team All-Big East honors, and Logan Ryan received second-team accolades. Both Harmon and Ryan were drafted by and played for the New England Patriots.[3]

NFL assistant coach

In 2012, Hafley made his NFL coaching debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He joined the Bucs as assistant defensive backs coach and spent 2013 as the secondary coach/safeties. That season, Hafley oversaw a unit which helped the team finish tied for third in the NFL with 21 interceptions.[citation needed] On January 27, 2014, Hafley was hired by the Cleveland Browns to coach their secondary. Hafley would remain in this role for 2 seasons (2014–15), before being relieved of his duties due to a coaching overhaul.[4] On January 24, 2016, Hafley was hired by San Francisco 49ers' new head coach Chip Kelly to coach the defensive backs.[5]

Ohio State

In 2019, Hafley was hired to be the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. Hafley quickly established himself as one of the best recruiters in the country, being ranked ninth overall recruiter for the 2020 class by 247Sports.com.[6]

Boston College

On December 13, 2019, Hafley was hired to be the head coach at Boston College after the firing of Steve Addazio.[7] During his four years with the team, Hafley led the Eagles to a 22–26 overall record and three bowl game appearances.[8]

Green Bay Packers

On January 31, 2024, Hafley was hired by the Green Bay Packers to be their defensive coordinator, marking his return to the NFL after five seasons in the college coaching ranks.[9]

Head coaching record

College

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Boston College Eagles (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2020–2023)
2020 Boston College 6–5 5–5 T–6th [a 1]
2021 Boston College 6–6 2–6 T–6th (Atlantic) Military[a 2]
2022 Boston College 3–9 2–6 7th (Atlantic)
2023 Boston College 7–6 3–5 T–9th W Fenway
Boston College: 22–26 12–22
Total: 22–26
  1. ^ Despite being bowl eligible, Boston College was the first of many NCAA programs to withdraw from postseason participation, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. ^ The Military Bowl was cancelled the day before it was scheduled due to positive COVID-19 cases in the Boston College program.

Personal life

Hafley and his wife, Gina, have two daughters.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ Tartaglia, Greg (February 4, 2020). "Jeff Hafley, a Bergen County native, starts new journey as Boston College football coach". The Record. Retrieved August 31, 2021. Hafley, who grew up in Montvale, played JV football for Dunn before moving up to varsity. He spent time at quarterback, receiver and safety for a Pascack Hills team that went from 0-9 his junior year to 7-2 his senior season.
  2. ^ "Jeff Hafley - Football Coach". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Cleveland Browns: Jeff Hafley". www.clevelandbrowns.com.
  4. ^ Reyes, Lorenzo. "Browns fire Mike Pettine, Ray Farmer in latest shake-up". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  5. ^ Fucillo, David (January 25, 2016). "49ers hire Browns secondary coach Jeff Hafley for same role, per Alex Marvez". Niners Nation. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Hummer, Chris (December 10, 2019). "Jeff Hafley is the 247Sports Defensive Coordinator of the Year". 247Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 14, 2019). "BC names Ohio State assistant Hafley new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Thamel, Pete (January 31, 2024). "Boston College's Hafley hired as Packers DC". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "Packers name Jeff Hafley defensive coordinator". Packers.com. January 31, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Thamel, Pete (March 30, 2020). "First-year college football coaches facing 'extreme challenges' in wake of coronavirus pandemic". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "JEFF HAFLEY". Retrieved February 1, 2024.

External links

National Football League defensive coordinators
Boston College Eagles head football coaches
Categories