It's done, this is the new DC. MLF made hiis choice and this hire is on him. He knows patience is wearing thin, the pressure is on. I think Hafley will bring energy and light a fire under some asses on defense.

Old joke: The Milwaukee Braves briefly gets a new pitcher named Mel Famey. He's a wiz at any kind of pitch and strikes out everyone he faces. But he has an Achilles heel: he loved to drink, and his pitching suffered. The manager tried to keep him away from the sauce and thought he'd succeeded until the Braves had an important game against a rival and Mel Famey pitching kept getting worse to the point where he was walking every batter. Eventually the Braves lost the game. The dejected manager realizes that Mel Famey is drunk and can't figure out where Mel Famey had gotten the beer and then the other team's manager came up to him. "I know a secret" he says. "What?" asks the Braves manager. The other team's manager walks him over to the pitcher's bench area and pulls up a hidden lid within the bench. Inside were empty cans and cans of Schlitz beer. "Here," says the other manager, "This is the beer that made Mel Famey walk us."

I am not excited about this hire. I am not even comfortable about this hire but I will give him a chance. Who knows he might just be the guy we are looking for. I hope we will be able to hire quality position coaches.

One thing I like is it does not seem like he is reliant on only one scheme. It seems as he might run a 3-4 and a 4-3 to match up to the offense. The Packers are built as a 3-4 man team but they could play 4-3 at times. I also like that he is more of a man defense than a zone defense.

I don't know anything about this guy. All I can say is give him a chance and let's see what happens. I would have preferred someone with NFL experience, Not necessarily a retread DC but some one who at least knows the NFL. He is LaFleur's choice so it's on him at this point. GPG! Thanks, Since "61

I read that although MLF knows him, he's never worked with him or are friends. More of a friend of a friend type deal. Maybe that will be for the best. It will allow a personal relationship to grow yet be able to keep it more of a boss - employee relationship where all are held accountable and a short chain. Maybe MLF will be able to concentrate on game plans for the whole team and not have to stick his nose into that room.

I think the special teams has been coming alone nicely due to RB. Their rating is down for missed kicks, I'll grant, but the other issues aren't as worrisome. I will trust these guys and think the kicker will start coming around like his brother did. A long term answer.

Grew up on PBR and don't really like sweet beer. It was (I'll admit) always the last beer left in the fridge at parties. LOL. When I moved to the mountains, PBR wasn't sold here so I had to switch to Miller high life. It's actually very good if you get it in iced bottles and I've grown used to it and only drink PBR as backup now that it's sold here.

Happy 100th, Tim!!! Congratulations to your longevity! Always enjoy this and will look forward to more.

Saw an interview with Richard Sherman talking about the kind of coach Hafley was when they were with the 49ers. He raved about his attention to detail and his ability to simplify the picture for the player. Given the confusion and missed assignments that plagued these recent Packer defenses, it might be a good skill to bring to the room. All I hope is that he can get the guys playing tight and on the same page. If the talent is there it will be enough to be a solid defense.

Welcome aboard Mister Hafley.

La Fleur is really sticking his neck out with this hire, as it is not a conventional pick. Hafley's resume does not look impressive to me. But who knows what will happen. If it works out, LaFleur will be a genius.

I've thought all along that the new DC, whoever LaFleur picked, could easily be worse than Joe Barry, who after all was just average. But average is not good enough, and it was time to move on. LaFleur is rolling the dice on this one, and it will be very interesting to see how it turns out.

Although I am tired of both teams that are in the Super Bowl, it looks like a great matchup, and like Tim, I am picking the Chiefs to win.

WOW!!!, didn't see this hire coming. Caught me totally off guard. As I read about Hafley, it is obvious the defensive schemes will be different this season. I’ve always liked a 4-3 defense, I love press coverage . I’m not saying that will happen, but it will take time to develop and jell together a 4-3 defense. Regardless, the defense cannot be any worse than it has been in the past. Only time will tell, I’m excited for our future, GO PACK GO!!!!!

New DC... I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll feel a whole lot better if Hafley isn't forced to keep the assistant coaches who worked under Barry. Hey, if a few on them are retained fine. But the man has GOT to be able to hire HIS guys as his assistants. I mean common, when you take a shower every morning you don't put on the same underwear from the day before do you? Let's start FRESH!!

Rodgers / Jets... What did they THINK was going to happen? LMFAO!!

What I found absolutely hilarious was there was over 30 sources in and around the organization who contributed to the story. That's a lot of people clearly not happy with Rodgers and all the BS that comes with him. Sorry Jets fans, but THANK YOU!

It’s like Gutey’s draft picks, you never see them coming….that has worked out just fine. I have no problem that Mlf knows the man, actually, I think that’s a good thing. I know in my career I’ve hired many who put on a great act in the interview but turned out nothing like what he/she said. I certainly would like to know their strengths and weaknesses before I hired the person.

I have no idea whether this man will be bad or good, what I do know he has worked under and with some great coaches, Lead a team for years as a HC and had one hell of a defense when he was co-defensive coordinator at OSU for one year. Also, the defense was worse the year before and after him. The next steps of hiring assistants will tell us something .

The downside is that he did nothing special as a HC at Boston College. That said, neither did the recent past coach. They just don’t have the resources there to compete at a high level. Reality is all candidates has perceived up and downside, let’s hope Mlf got this one right! Go Pack G.

AR, great quarterback, absolutely horrible GM.

I am sure I am just like everyone else that had no clue who Hafley was before the signing. Everything that I have read so far about Hafley has been very positive. His time in the pros and his time in college have been very positive.

From what I have read about him so far.
When he took over at Ohio State he turned the program around, after he left there the defense wasn't the same.
He runs a base 4 man front. He runs a 4-2-5 defense nickel. Our front is set up to be a 4 man front. He is an aggressive coach who will do a lot of things. He will play press man coverage. It sounds like he moves his ILB's around a lot. He will blitz and he will drop people.
I also saw a few people talking about him as a hire. I saw Dan Orlavsky say "Heck of a football coach. Packers defense will be much more aggressive". I would say that's a pretty good thing to hear. I saw Richard Sherman (played with Hafley at 49ers) say this. "His preparation is some of the best I've seen. I've had some great defensive back coaches, great defensive coaches, great defensive minds and he's right up there". Again, another good quote.

The more I have seen about him the more I like! Now we will see what he decides to do with the current staff. From what I have seen LaFleur is giving him full option to bring in who he wants and keep who he wants. So that will be the next step. Then after that he will need to get the players he wants to run the defense. I believe he will need a rangy Free Safety, and another ILB.

Like I have been seeing all over. You hire the person not the scheme. It sounds like he was a good person to hire

I could have sworn that the beer that made Milwaukee famous, was Old Milwaukee. Maybe I'm wrong. Oh well!

Okay now lets get serious, Joke is over, who are we interviewing today that is a good defensive coach and willing to come to the Packers and turn things around, Hafley, now that's funny. Probably a good guy for going along with this right. Cant wait to here who LeFleur ends up with he has four very good people on his list.

I'm selfish. I wanted a proven NFL DC to come in and weave all those first round picks into a dominating D. Maybe Hafley can do that. No clue. Nothing left to do but wait and see.

The Athletic piece on the the Jets is filled with tasty schadenfreude. What a mess.

Perhaps Matt's BFF, the embattled Saleh (whom I admire defensively), gave a thumbs-up.

I'll say this: we have to ask ourselves why we were "excited" about other candidates when none has ever worked in this job. The most successful DCs either stay in that role where they are (admittedly, some like Evero are suffering at the hands of poorly run teams and fired HCs) or get the chance to run their own teams.

Since just about every other inexperienced candidate is the product of the media hype train, it's hard to say much about any of them except they worked under a successful DC that got their foot in the door for them. Many of these inexperienced DC candidates will get their shot, but be back in the mill in 2-3 years either when their HC gets fired or when their HC will look for something better. A couple will get their chance to be an HC.

In the case of Hafley, he's someone who has worked in a variety of schemes but his only DC experience comes at OSU with an even front. HIs BC teams ran a 4-2-5 base (with their extra DB being a S, so in the same vein as Det) but he didn't call defensive plays.

Over his time, he's coached with guys with Packers connections (Ryan Downard, Mike Malaspina (scouting director), Mike Pettine) and with people LaF knows well and trusts (Mike LaFluer, Robert Saleh, Kyle Shanahan). So I don't think this is as blind a grasp as some make it out to be. It will be interesting to see how he shapes the base defense, but with Van Ness and Gary, they have two DE/OLB types, and Colby Wooden is more of an even front DE... so the cupboard isn't bare there. This would allow Quay Walker to play his more natural WLB in an even front.

I'm not advocating for a change in base defense--the Packers have DL prospects that look like they could be ascending, but a 4-3 would stress that depth. Recall that the switch from Bob Sanders' 4-3 to Dom Capers' 3-4 took a year and they were contenders after that, but they also hit on a couple key players (Raji and CMIII) right off the bat.

Around the NFCN---
The Bears have made some interesting moves in their coaching. They brought in an OC who worked well with Geno Smith, which might argue they're willing to stick it out with Fields--but that will mean that they need to make a financial commitment to him or risk going through some franchise tag/free agency drama. Even if they deal Fields, I don't think they'll get the payday they're hoping for because of his on-field play and contract status. They need a lot of pieces, and they have a lot of capital, but their up-and-down draft record and inability to develop guys leaves them in a mess. I think they leapfrog MIN in 2024 though into 3rd place in the NFCN.

The Lions caught a break when Ben Johnson chose to stick around. Probably one of the more surprising coaching developments this off-season, until you see that about the only suitor left (since other jobs were getting filled) was Washington. Aaron Glenn sticks around, too. That plays well for this team because replacing high-end assistants is a tough business, and if both guys left, it would gut that staff. Still, Goff is Goff, and as a young team they're headed for a point where hard decisions need to be made on who to keep and who walks. We always used to say that the champ was the champ (Packers) until they're not, so I'll give DET that deference.

The Vikings are backed into a corner with their QB. They learned that O'Connell couldn't make the offense go with just any schlep, which either puts Cousins in the drivers' seat--and challenges them to find ways to pay Jefferson--or forces them to find a potential franchise QB in the draft...picking outside the top 10 makes that harder. The defense fell on hard times at the end of the year, even though they kept the Vikes in games early on, they surrendered 30 ppg over their last 4 when they were playing for a playoff spot. They need a lot of help. 4th place in 2024.

When Shanahan took over as 49ers HC he kept Hafley on as DB coach. That's always a good sign.

Does anyone really know what we got? Honestly I do not. His record has highs and lows and it’s guesswork trying to put much of it in context.

I do wonder if he was a clear first choice or this was finalized after the moves by Seattle. Perhaps that will come out, perhaps not.

I think that this hiring surely only ratchets up the pressure on LaFleur if it doesn’t go well. This was a year with a strong talent pool. If Haffley underperforms the questions will be legitimate. If Haffley shines though, it will be seen as a coup.

Oh well, the draft and any free agency will probably offer the first tangible clues to his intentions, though I will be very interested to see which coaches he replaces.

I am somewhat perturbed by the general feeling of relief out of Boston College. He apparently won’t be greatly lamented by some. There’s a lot of “jumped before he was pushed” sentiment out there. An example:

https://www.bcinterruption.com/2024/1/31/24057548/opinion-jeff-hafley-fi...

I think in a way this a really cool to think that all the Pundits had this or that guy to be Packer DC and LaFluer turns the whole wagon upside down with basically a guy seemingly in the GB arena ever even heard of. Hopefully smart move now much running down or up should happen. Hope he is successful!

I'm 100% on board with using our roster more often in a 4-2-5 style.

Gary and VanNess already play more like defensive ends than OLBs (In fact that's what I said after the Packers drafted him: He was best in college when he played with his hand down).
Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks are ALSO more like DEs than DTs.

Preston Smith and Quay Walker can play any defense. Isaiah McDuffie has looked good and has played under Hafely

Then, at DT, we have the classic run-stopping Clark and Slaton, and the penetrating Wyatt.
It's also great for this draft, because there are more penetrators than run-stoppers:
Jer'Zhan Newton, Kris Jenkins, Byron Murphy, Braden Fiske, etc. are all in play.

Valentine, Nixon, and Stokes are all better at press than zone. Now we need to add safeties that thrive in this defense.

BEER: I wonder if this Blatz uses the old recipe? My favorite beer in college was Old Style, which also had sweetness, but after being sold, it never tasted the same.

We've all heard the term "hire the coach, not the scheme" how many times in the past few days?
If Richard Sherman knows anything about football, that might be what just happened.
My first reaction was 'WTF", but after reading and listening I've done a 180. I'm now much more content to wait and see.
I'd love to hear what Robert Saleh, Chase Young, and Kyle Shanahan have to say.

I often rely on my gut and this hire is troubling to me. (per my gut-lol)
It would interesting (very) to find out more about the what happened behind the scenes during the entire 1-2 week-long interview process among all the candidates.

First off, I never heard of Haley prior to the Packers hiring him, but based upon what I've read what others have had to say about him AND what I've read what he has written, I expect the Packers defense to improve. I hope the improvement will go through the roof, but nevertheless, I do expect improvement.

What do I like after all the reading?

1. He said it's paramount that a defense be able to adjust in a real time fashion which is something that simply didn't seem to exist previously under Barry.

2. When he addressed individual players, he said if they are playing well at their position, do not initiate changes in how you think they should play the position, but concentrate on helping them get even better. Sounds a little contradictory to me, but I think I know what he means by that and I like it. All too often I seen the Packers draft a player who is playing...for example...safety well in college and decide to make him play corner back and vice versa. Or a sound defensive lineman and try to make him a stand up linebacker and it fails. I believe he will be more judicious in having player used in the position that best suits their capability and their ability to enhance the Packers performance on defense.

3. He believes it's important to listen to players and said over the years he has learned greatly from the players themselves. I also believe that methodology will make the players themselves feel even more committed to playing the game with excitement and a stronger dedication.

4. And, I almost forgot...I don't expect to see corners playing off 10 yards on third down when the defense has three yards to go. Haley will play some aggressive press coverage when needed.

Just my thoughts, but what do I know?

I think like most people here I've never heard of our new DC. Give him a chance. I like to look at the glass as Hafley full, not Hafley empty. OK, I won't say that again.

Back when I lived in Milwaukee in the late 80s early 90s Blatz is what we drank! $4.25 for a case of returnables....long live Blatz.

Give the guy a chance...I guess we have to no other choice...he certainly can not be the first or even second choice though...reading the article that Coldworld posted above is a bit troubling for sure...if he flops both him and MLF will be under the gun...did Guty do background on this guy??

I'm trying to see this as the glass being Hafley full instead of Hafley empty.
Let's hope the new guy is a defensive mastermind and a leader of men chosen presciently out of relative obscurity by a young and discerning NFL head coach who is finding his footing as the leader on the sideline and on the cusp of taking the Packers to a Super Bowl triumph.

"The defensive innovation that must occur to counter some of these prolific offenses taking the league by storm will likely be led by young, fresh minds as well."

BINGO!!!

I'm so glad we have a young and hungry hire... Experience, but no retread. No "old school" D schemes that haven't worked since Mahomes entered the league. No Zimmer's, Belechick's, Frazier's, Ryan's, or anything of the like... FRESH NEW MINDS are needed to stop today's high-powered offenses.

Every player and coach in the NFL started at the same place: being a rookie, facing real competition for the first time, and either showing they could adjust and grow, or fade into obscurity. So it will be with Jeff Hafley. But first, the players on defense have to buy into his ideas, learn new schemes, and probably take some time to stop thinking and start reacting. His assistants will also be key, since they will be spending a lot of time with the players. Will there be a cohesive message? Will players who seem to have plateaued take the next step and start realizing their potential? The exhibition season and the first few regular games could be rough. as the players adjust to their new roles. What will be important is the defense improving as the season progresses. Similar to what Love did this year.

Anyone else old enough to remember the song?

I'm from Milwaukee and I oughta know
Blatz beer tastes great, whereever you go
All Blatz is draft-brewed, that's why you hear
Blatz is Milwaukee's finest beer!

A couple things:

Richard Sherman never says anything good about anybody. So that is really encouraging coming from him. A great player, but a real tool.

College football has changed for the worse with the legalized buying of players/NIL. I remember SMU got the death penalty for doing then what is now legal. Also, the transfer portal is extremely out of control. Boston College fits the description of most lower class schools that are turning into feeder programs for the "Big Boys".
I can see why a coach would want out.

I seem to be the only poster who read an Ohio State article of Hafley's short time there and one of the big things he had to teach/coach. TACKLING CORRECTLY!! Which is one of GBs biggest problems. Hard to believe that would be a problem @ Ohio State with the caliber of DBs they get there. We needed someone with BIGTIME DB coaching talent and experience. I think we got just that with Hafley.

Also love the fact that his DBs get a lot of turnovers, something in short supply for us this year. With Barry's pattern of his defense giving up points and leads late, it could have cost us the Dallas game without them and could have won the SF game with the ones we missed. If he can make the DBs play better as has been his calling card, that bodes well for one of our Packers teams biggest weaknesses. And it will make the front seven better too.

My first reaction was WHO? But as others have said, did any of us posters know about any of the candidates before this search started? The big takeaway is we moved on from Barry, and we got a younger, talented coach to replace him.

Last thing, along with the emphasis on tackling this coach has, I like what I have read about he is still evolving on the way he coaches defense. Because the game is always changing. Hafley sounds like a coach that will make adjustments as the game goes on, which Barry never did. The Packers got better today, time will show how much.

a younger coach coming out of college coming to the youngest team may make for a good chemistry between them ,lets hope that's the case .

After reading the above comments as well as other articles, it appears that no one really knows our new DC. I certainly don't and like most, I want to give him a chance.

My concern is that his track record is just so so at best. Not very impressive. I basically have the same feeling that I had when Joe Barry was hired. Then as now, I will give the guy a chance but history of this position hire under LaFleur has not been the best.

Head coaches, CEO's, upper echelon of management will do well to hire smart and talented people around them. It will make them look good as well as successful. There job is then much easier as well.

I am not a believer in hiring friends. Lots of times it just does not work out! Now maybe this guy really is not a friend but kind of an acquaintance or just someone Matt has worked with. I don't know.

Let's give him a chance and if he fails? Well, I would guess that is on LAF and I do not know where we will go to at that point.

Let's hope for the best!

All you can do is wait and give the man a chance. If the right choice was made in the first place, Ejiro Evero and not Joe Barry should have been our DC. As poor as that offense was and how many times the offense gave the ball up in Carolina, that defense still gave up less than 300 yards a game on average. Does Carolina have betters players then Green Bay on defense?

I know Hafley produced exceptional defenses at Ohio State but that is Ohio State. You automatically have better players sitting on your bench than 95% of other teams starter in college football. Evero did more with less at Carolina.

I hope this new hire proves all the doubters wrong because I believe there is a lot of skeptics out there even though they want to remain positive. I am one of them. The DC has been a sore spot in Green Bay for years now in my opinion. I hope this DC will bring us back to defense like we had in the 2010-2011 season.

I give the organization some credit. At least they didn't do a Dom Capers and stay with someone way past the time to let them go.

Good Luck Jeff Hafley

what do I know about hiring a coach? Let the experts earn their legacies. We'll roast them if they don't. Until then.....

The fact Jeff and Matt are longtime friends probably explains why the recruiting, interviewing and hiring were all under the radar.

Hafley had a job and Matt no doubt had inside knowledge about his concerns about the college game upheavals with NIL, transfer portals, and complexities it brought to recruiting and team building.

I expect he was one of, if not the first candidate he called after Barry was fired. And I also expect prior to the offer, conversations were had by Matt with Saleh, Shannihan, his brother, and perhaps even Pettine.

Jeff inherits a solid D roster.

Clark, Slayton, Wyatt, Brooks, and Wooden can play DT. Gary, Preston, Van Ess can play DE...and so can Brooks and Wooden. Solid front 4 players.

Walker and McDuffie form a good core for the LBs. Back to discussing Mike, Will, and Sam LBs. Campbell? I don't know. Probably a high draft pick at LB coming.

CBs also have a good core for Haf. Alexander, Stokes, and Valentine are man CBs. Maybe Nixon looks more attractive too. But Safety is the KEY for the Hafley's 4-3, Cover 1. Expect to see new players at the position via draft and maybe FA.

I recommend Andy Herman's review of the new DC. Well rounded, honest, informative.

Stoked! Let's roll with this guy!! Can't be worse than Barry

Yet another shocker out of deep left field. I get a kick out of all the mock drafts and predictions regarding what Packers coaches and management will do concerning staffing, drafts and trades. Nobody has a clue how this organization thinks or operates until they announce it. All Packers fans have are wishes and hope. Can’t wait to see how this new DC does.