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GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers interviewed a number of the best defensive minds in the NFL, from former head coach Brandon Staley to up-and-coming coaches Bobby Babich and Dennard Wilson, in his quest for a defensive coordinator to succeed Joe Barry.
In those situations, LaFleur had the option to watch the film to observe how their defensive strategies would perform in practice against actual NFL offenses.
Rather, LaFleur is attempting it the traditional collegiate way with Jeff Hafley, the Boston collegiate coach.
Following seven NFL seasons as a defensive backs coach, Hafley served as Boston College’s head coach from 2020 to 2023 and Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2019.
The celebrity-filled The nation’s strongest defense was Ohio State’s. In terms of points allowed last season, his undermanned Boston College defense was rated 87th out of 133 FBS teams.
Before signing a contract with the Packers, Hafley stated on a podcast, “It’s almost a different game when I talk to my friends in the NFL and we talk defense together.” The NFL quarterback will rush the ball in crucial situations, such as the red zone, on third down, or during a championship game. That is not something you can do every week. The running quarterback in the college game is one more player you have to take into consideration.
In college football, there is a field and a boundary; but, in the NFL, the ball is in the middle of the field during the whole game. Following this unique game has been enjoyable.
How can Hafley tell whether his ideas will be effective in the NFL?
During his opening press conference on Thursday at Lambeau Field, Hafley stated, “Well, it’s going to be a little different than what we did at BC.” “I had to get used to that when I returned [to the college game in 2019] because at BC, you had to worry about the quarterback pulling the ball and running every play. Because I recall returning to my time in San Francisco, the quarterback was suddenly running the ball on every play. “Whoa, this is a little different,” I thought to myself.
Thus, you must watch the movie and make the necessary adjustments. I’ve been following the NFL closely. I watch a lot of what very comparable guys, many of whom are close friends on defense, were doing on film many nights, and I’ve kept up with a lot of it.
LaFleur, for his part, minimized the distinctions.
LaFleur remarked, “I think it’s more similar than you think.” Many of the incidents that occur in college football these days are now occurring in the NFL. There are now some variations in the regulations. The size of the field and some players’ skill levels are undoubtedly different, but he has performed admirably everywhere he has gone. I believed that he had always been able to bring out the best in each of his players.
It’s not as though Hafley will play a peculiar kind of defense. His defenses at Boston College employed a lot of Cover-1 and Cover-3 plays. Despite bringing in a lot of Vic Fangio-style Cover-2 plays, former defensive coordinator Joe Barry ran the eighth-highest percentage of Cover-3 snaps in the NFL last season, according to statistics from Pro Football Focus that was sent to Packer Central.
LaFleur also put together a seasoned defensive staff. Derrick Ansley was the Chargers’ defensive coordinator the previous season and was in charge of the passing game defense. Anthony Campanile, the Dolphins’ linebackers coach, was a candidate for coordinator this season after serving in that capacity for the previous four seasons. Holdovers include defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich. Hafley was coached by Vince Oghobaase at Boston College and the 49ers as an assistant defensive line coach.
“Our staff is excellent,” Hafley remarked. “The question always comes down to what this team can do to help us win games. And whether the staff contributes those ideas or not, that’s how I’m going to work here, after all. Now that I’m a head coach, I believe it has benefited me and will make me a better coordinator since it has increased my receptivity to ideas.
Whose idea it is, I don’t care. We will take the best option and use it to our advantage to win games, and that is exactly what we are doing as we put everything together.
