Green Bay Packers DC Jeff Hafley Linked To Big Ten Head Coaching Position
As the college football coaching carousel begins to turn, a new name has emerged in connection with the potential opening at Michigan State: Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. With the Spartans struggling and current coach Jonathan Smith’s seat growing hotter, speculation about his replacement is ramping up, and Hafley’s profile makes him an intriguing, if complex, candidate.
Green Bay Packers Jeff Hafley Going Back To College?
On paper, Hafley seems like a natural fit for a program like Michigan State. In his first year as the Packers’ defensive coordinator, he has transformed the unit into one of the NFL’s elite, ranking in the top ten in total defense, run defense, and scoring defense. This success at the professional level has only boosted his already strong reputation.
Before returning to the NFL, Hafley built an impressive resume in the college ranks. He was the head coach at Boston College for four seasons, leading the Eagles to bowl eligibility in three of those years. Even more relevant to the Big Ten is his one-year stint as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2019. During that season, he helped guide the Buckeyes to a conference title and a College Football Playoff berth with the nation’s top-ranked defense. His familiarity with the conference and recruiting landscape makes him a logical name for any Big Ten program in search of a new leader.
A Hesitation to Return to College?
While the fit seems obvious, there’s a significant reason to believe Hafley might not be interested in a return to college football. He made a very public and deliberate choice to leave his head coaching position at Boston College to become a coordinator in the NFL. His reasoning was candid: the relentless, year-round demands of recruiting, managing the transfer portal, and fundraising in the modern NIL era had taken the joy out of coaching.
“I want to coach football again,” he said upon taking the Packers job, a clear statement about his desire to focus purely on the X’s and O’s. Having just escaped the very aspects of the college game he grew to dislike, would he be willing to dive back in, even for a more prominent job like Michigan State?
The landscape of college football has only become more demanding since he left. For a coach who intentionally stepped away to get back to the basics of football, returning to manage a Power Five program in its current state would be a surprising reversal. While his name will likely continue to be floated for this and other college jobs, Hafley may have already found his preferred coaching environment in the NFL, making a return to the college sidelines an unlikely, though not impossible, move.
