{"id":42116,"date":"2026-01-21T16:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42116"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:35:15","slug":"breaking-news-packers-defensive-coordinator-tracker-who-will-replace-jeff-hafley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=42116","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : Packers Defensive Coordinator Tracker: Who Will Replace Jeff Hafley?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 The Green Bay Packers need a defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

Whoever coach Matt LaFleur selects will inherit a game-wrecking defensive force in Micah Parsons and several other high-quality starters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I want a say. I would just say I\u2019ve been around some good DCs,\u201d Parsons said. \u201cThere\u2019s been Dan (Quinn), Zim (Mike Zimmer) and Haf. I\u2019ve been blessed in my career. I\u2019d just say bring someone who cares about the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want someone the players can relate to, that we want to risk it all for. We\u2019re in battle together, whether you\u2019re up in the booth and you\u2019re leading the charge or whether you\u2019re on the field leading the charge. We\u2019re all together, so I just want to be in battle with someone who wants to go to battle with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are the known candidates.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Gannon<\/h2>\n

Credentials: <\/strong>Former head coach, Arizona Cardinals; NFC-winning defensive coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

During a failed three-year run with the Cardinals, Gannon\u2019s defenses ranked 30th in points allowed, 30th in opponent passer rating, 26th in yards per carry and 25th in takeaways.<\/p>\n

However, in helping the Eagles reach the Super Bowl in 2022, they finished eighth in points allowed, second in total defense, first in yards per passing plays and first in sack percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy is an incredible coordinator. People love to play for this guy,\u201d Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said during the Super Bowl run. \u201cEvery time I hear (criticism) about Jonathan Gannon, I laugh to myself. As a matter of fact, coaches from other teams ask me, \u2018Does Jonathan Gannon get crap here?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Somehow, yeah.\u2019 Like, this guy is incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to be a head football coach in the National Football League because of what he does. This guy is a stud. He\u2019s a stud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the full story.<\/p>\n

Christian Parker<\/h2>\n

Credentials: <\/strong>Defensive passing-game coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

Parker got his start in the NFL as a quality-control coach for the Packers in 2019 and 2020, the first two seasons of LaFleur\u2019s tenure. He was defensive backs coach for the Broncos from 2021 through 2023 and added the title of defensive passing-game coordinator for the Eagles the past two seasons.<\/p>\n

Vic Fangio was head coach of the Broncos in 2021 and brought Parker with him to Philadelphia when he was hired as defensive coordinator in 2024.<\/p>\n

“I could say a lot of things about him,\u201d Eagles standout defensive back Cooper DeJean said recently. \u201cWhat he\u2019s meant to me and Q (Quinyon Mitchell), too. We\u2019ve had a routine of me and Q go meet with him. two or three times a week just to go over the team we\u2019re playing, talk about different looks. And I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be the player I am or I\u2019d have the success that I\u2019ve had without him.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his two years in Philly, the Eagles are second in points allowed, first in opponent passer rating, first in passing yards allowed, second in completion percentage allowed and tied for 14th in interceptions.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the full story.<\/p>\n

Daronte Jones<\/h2>\n

Credentials:<\/strong> Defensive passing-game coordinator, Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n

Jones was defensive backs coach for the Vikings in 2020 before a one-year stint as LSU\u2019s defensive coordinator. He returned to Minnesota in 2022 as defensive backs coach before adding the title of defensive passing-game coordinator in 2023.<\/p>\n

The past three seasons, the Vikings ranked 11th in opponent passer rating and ninth in interceptions as part of a defense that ranked third in points allowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does a really good job of communicating exactly what we need to get done and things that we can expect while also not overloading the group with things that can bog you down,\u201d star safety Harrison Smith said via The Star-Tribune.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be a balance there based on just experience levels. He\u2019s been doing a great job of starting at the fundamentals and expanding from there and giving us enough information to grow without handicapping us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the full story.<\/p>\n

Potential In-House Candidates<\/h2>\n

The Packers have two assistant coaches who have been defensive coordinators with defensive passing-game coordinator Derrick Ansley and defensive run-game coordinator\/defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington. Neither of their one-year stints were successful.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Ansley was the coordinator for the Chargers, though then-coach Brandon Staley essentially was the leader of the unit. They finished 24th in points allowed, 28th in total defense, 13th in yards per rushing attempt and 28th in yards per passing attempt. Really, the only phase that was strong was a fourth-place finish in goal-to-go.<\/p>\n

Staley was fired at the end of the season, and Ansley joined the Packers as defensive passing-game coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about partnerships, give and take,\u201d Ansley said in 2023. \u201cIt\u2019s about seeking input and giving input, and that\u2019s player-to-coach and coach-to-player. No coach has all the answers. The players are the ones that are seeing it through their helmet. I think that\u2019s big for a coach, especially at this level, to have some flexibility to listen to the players, because the players sometimes know best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Covington was the defensive coordinator for Jerod Mayo\u2019s failed one-year stint as Patriots coach. Handed a thin talent base, New England finished 22nd in points allowed, 22nd in total defense, 14th in yards per rushing attempt, 21st in yards per passing attempt and 32nd in sack percentage and 32nd in the red zone.<\/p>\n

Mayo was fired after a 4-13 season, and LaFleur hired Covington to replace Jason Rebrovich.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you turn on the tape, what we want to see is a physical team, a team that plays with good discipline and fundamentals, and a team that attacks the football and takes it away from the opponent,\u201d Covington said upon being promoted following seven seasons as an assistant.<\/p>\n

A wild card could be Ryan Downard. The 37-year-old, who played at Eastern Michigan, joined the Packers as a defensive quality-control coach in 2018. LaFleur retained him in 2019, with Downard going from assistant defensive backs coach from 2019 through 2021 to safeties coach in 2022 to assistant defensive backs coach the past three seasons.<\/p>\n

Big Shoes to Fill<\/h2>\n

Jeff Hafley earned his opportunity to coach the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

In two seasons on the job, Green Bay ranked eighth in points allowed, 14th in opponent passer rating, sixth in yards per carry and 10th in takeaways. He did it without a standout cornerback and while getting less than a full season with Micah Parsons.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that sh** would suck, I ain\u2019t gonna lie. Ain\u2019t gonna lie,\u201d defensive back Javon Bullard said of potentially losing Hafley. \u201cBut, you know, that\u2019s the beauty of this profession. That\u2019s the sad part about this profession but it\u2019s also a beautiful thing, too. You want everybody to succeed and level up, because that\u2019s the same thing with somebody here going to get a new contract somewhere else. We wouldn\u2019t want him to be sad for us, you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hafley probably will take some coaches with him. For instance, linebackers coach Sean Duggan and assistant defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase followed Hafley from Boston College to Green Bay.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 The Green Bay Packers need a defensive coordinator. 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