With Jeff Hafley Gone, Where Will The Packers Turn For Their Next Defensive Coordinator?

Matt LaFleur’s coordinator carousel is spinning again.

LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers’ head coach, will be in the market for a new defensive coordinator after Jeff Hafley was named the Miami Dolphins new head coach on Monday. LaFleur will now be looking for his fourth defensive coordinator since taking over in Green Bay in 2019.

Mike Pettine held that position from 2019-2020, then Joe Barry took over from 2021-2023.

Under Hafley, the Packers ranked sixth in yards allowed per game in 2024 (315.6) and sixth in points allowed per game (19.9). Green Bay also ranked third in takeaways that season with 31.

This year, the Packers ranked 12^th in yards per allowed per game (311.8) and 11^th in points allowed per game (21.2). Green Bay took the ball away just 14 times, though, which tied for 29^th.

Green Bay standout pass rusher Micah Parsons tweeted: “Genuinely happy for haf! Great guy great person! Gonna miss his energy!”

Hafley interviewed for six head coach openings. Miami recently hired former Green Bay vice president of player personnel Jon Eric Sullivan as its new general manager, though, which WAS certainly a key role in Hafley landing with the Dolphins.

“I think Hafley’s going to do a great job on the interviews and I fully anticipate him getting one of these,” LaFleur said of Hafley on Jan. 11. “And I would be so happy for him because he deserves it.

“He’s a great friend, he’s a great man, he’s a great coach. I’d hate to see him leave for us, but at the same time, that’s what this business is all about. And he’s earned those (opportunities), so I’m excited for him in that regard. But we’ll make sure we have a good plan in place.”

That plan could include former Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris, who LaFleur worked with in both Washington and Atlanta.

San Francisco assistant head coach Gus Bradley and Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores could also be extremely attractive candidates. So could Denver pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, who was a former defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin; former Packer and current Chicago Bears defensive backs coach Al Harris; former Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon; Buffalo defensive coordinator Bobby Basich, who could be out of a job after the Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott Monday; and Patrick Graham, who coached linebackers in Green Bay and is now the Las Vegas Raiders’ defensive coordinator.

If LaFleur stayed in-house, the most likely candidates would be defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, or defensive pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley. Covington was New England’s defensive coordinator in 2024, while Ansley was the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator in 2023.

Hafley could take some of Green Bay’s assistants with him to Miami, which would force LaFleur to do a major overhaul of his staff.

It also remains uncertain if LaFleur will move on from special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.

Green Bay made Bisaccia the highest paid special teams coordinator in football in 2022, and the results have remained underwhelming. The Packers finished 22^nd, 29^th, and 22^nd in their first three seasons under Bisaccia.

Green Bay’s special teams were also dreadful under Sean Mennenga (2019-2020) and Maurice Drayton (2021) during the LaFleur-era.