What you should know about the new assistant coaches of the Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY: On Thursday, Matt LaFleur, the coach of the Green Bay Packers, introduced Jeff Hafley as the new defensive coordinator. The two discussed the new coaches on LaFleur’s staff.
Let’s examine each hire:
Jeff Hafley, coordinator of defense
Joe Barry, the fired defensive coordinator, is replaced.
Background: Hafley has coached defensive backs for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he has spent the last five seasons as a college coach, serving as the head coach of Boston College for the last four of those seasons.
He was Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator for a year before that.
Hafley was an assistant to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano in 2011, and when Schiano was hired as the head coach of Tampa Bay in 2012, Hafley went with him. The Buccaneers went 11-21 over two years under Schiano’s 4-3 scheme, which included some blitz pressure. Schiano was fired following the 2013 season.
Hafley joined Mike Pettine’s staff in Cleveland after spending two years with the Buccaneers. Two of LaFleur’s close friends, current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, were on the offensive staff.
Talented young coaches like current Buffalo defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, current Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, and current Detroit Lions coordinator Aaron Glenn were part of the defensive staff.
With two years remaining on his $4 million-a-year contract at Boston College, Hafley was under contract. He finished with a 22-26 record, and there were rumors that he would have lost his job if his team hadn’t defeated No. 24-ranked SMU to earn a spot in a bowl game the previous season.
In terms of team defense, Boston College came in at number 70 in 2023, 66th in 2022, 28th in 2021, and 73rd in 20.
Hafley held positions as defensive backs coach (2006–10) at Pittsburgh, defensive assistant and defensive backs coach (2002-05) at the University of Albany, and running backs coach (2001–2002) at Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute before joining Schiano’s staff.
LaFleur on Hafley: “I just felt really good about the leadership and connection skills that Jeff Hafley will bring to our team. Of course, as a football coach, I’ve always respected him from a distance. He has collaborated with my brother on two separate occasions. He has collaborated with Kyle Shanahan on two separate occasions, in Cleveland and San Francisco, and I am aware of their admiration for him as a person before all else as a coach.
But I’m genuinely looking forward to what he has to offer. It will undoubtedly be a different plan. However, I believe that with the staff we have, it will be simple to adapt to. You better make sure that the pieces we have on hand are capable of doing what he’s going to expect of them, was something that was definitely on my mind during this whole process. And I believe we already have that here. Therefore, if you have talented players, they ought to be flexible schemes. so I was at ease with that.
Anthony Campanile, coordinator of the defensive run game and linebackers coach
Replaced: Kirk Olivadotti, the inside linebackers coach (who was let go and relocated to Seattle).
Context: Hafley coached at Rutgers in 2011 before moving to Tampa Bay to work with Schiano, so Campanile has ties to that university. Campanile was a member of Schiano’s first recruiting class and played linebacker and safety at Rutgers.
He coached wide receivers and tight ends at Rutgers before moving on to Boston College, where he co-defensive coordinator (2018) and coached defensive backs from 2016 to 2017. After that, he spent a year coaching linebackers at Michigan. Coincidentally, Hafley was Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator in 2019 as well.
Since taking over as Miami’s linebackers coach in 2020, Campanile has developed a reputation as a highly tense, intense motivator. He gained notoriety as a tough competitor after a clip of his passionate speech to his linebackers from an episode of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Miami Dolphins” was released.
After interviewing Campanile for their available coordinator position and selecting Anthony Weaver, the Dolphins decided to let him go. In a bidding battle for Campanile, the Packers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.
About Campanile, Hafley said, “I believe he is a star.” He’s going to add energy, in my opinion. He is, in my opinion, an excellent football coach.
I didn’t meet him on ‘Hard Knocks,’ though. He was most likely seen by many of you on “Hard Knocks.” But let me say it again: because he unmistakably has a Jersey accent, you probably picture a fiery, enthusiastic, inspirational man from Jersey when you see that. However, he’s among the most admirable and devoted individuals I’ve ever encountered. He’s among the best football coaches I’ve ever worked with. Despite our long history together, we have never really collaborated.
He was a coordinator at a high school I attended when I was a young college coach. Among the top high schools in the country was this one. And we would constantly talk football for hours on end. We were always in communication, asking each other questions about football. Whenever we could, we would get together. I tried to hire him when I got to Ohio State, but he went elsewhere. Thus, I recruited him much more effectively this time.
Aaron Hill, coordinator of strength and conditioning
Chris Gizzi, the fired coordinator of strength and conditioning, is the replacement.
Background: Hill worked with LaFleur’s brother Mike, his close friend Robert Saleh, and Hafley during his four seasons of service under Shanahan in San Francisco.
While both were attending the University of Minnesota, Hill worked as an intern for current 49ers strength coach Dustin Perry.In 2019, Hill moved to San Francisco to join Perry.
Hill completed a one-year internship with the Carolina Panthers in between his internship at Minnesota and his hiring by the 49ers. Hill also worked as assistant strength coach at Vanderbilt for four years, from 2015 to 2018.
Hill, a linebacker for the University of Minnesota, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, sport, and exercise science as well as a master’s degree in applied kinesiology, sport, and exercise science.
LaFleur on Hill: “It’s funny, but we found this guy from San Francisco, and I think they’re doing some pretty cool stuff out there.” In addition to Kyle Shanahan, my wife’s first cousin, Dustin Perry, the head strength coach, and I have a close relationship. However, after we made the decision to change, I spoke with Perry quite a bit, mainly just seeking advice on how to find people.
“I felt Aaron performed a fantastic job during the interview process, and I wasn’t the only one who participated in it. Our associate athletic trainer Nate Weir and trainer Bryan Engel, nicknamed “Flea,” were involved in that process, as were our special teams coaches. There were a few other guys in there with us. Simply put, I believe it was critical that we all agreed on this.
Ansley was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee for two seasons before coming to the Chargers. From 2016 to 2017, he was the defensive backs coach at the University of Alabama, where he helped the Crimson Tide to the top of the country in both scoring and total defense.
With 19 interceptions during his career, Ansley ranks second all-time in program history while playing safety for Troy University from 2001 to 2004.
We’ve known each other since I was a DB coach for the first time; our first interactions were at the combine, where we got to know one another and worked through the drills. At the time, he was employed by one of my close friends in Oakland. As a result, we kept in touch with him throughout his career and we spoke quite a bit.
Furthermore, he has coordinator experience. Putting this puzzle together, he can therefore relate to what it’s like to sit in my chair. He offers a wealth of experience from his various endeavors and schemes, which I believe will be beneficial.
Oghobaase collaborated with Hafley from 2016 to 2017 while both players were with the 49ers. He joined Hafley at Boston College in 2020.
Oghobaase played defensive lineman for four years as a starter for Duke and briefly entered the NFL. Before spending two seasons (2016–17) as the 49ers’ assistant defensive line coach, he worked as a graduate assistant coach at Ohio State for three seasons (2013–15) and Duke for two seasons (2011–12).
After that, he spent two seasons coaching the defensive line at UCLA before joining Hafley at BC.
As a coach of defensive line and pass rush, he will complement the outspoken, high-energy approach of former outside linebackers coach Jason Rebrovich.
“I met Vince, the assistant D-line coach, while I was in San Francisco. incredibly smart. played the role. Excellent rapport with the players and an excellent teacher in terms of technique and fundamentals. He later worked with Chip Kelly at UCLA, and I called him when I was hired at BC. At that time, he was Chip’s D-line coach. I tossed him a pitch, and he agreed to come.
“His players enjoy competing for him, but he is very strict with them. He holds them to a standard, is strict with them, and is a hard coach. However, he’s a fantastic teacher and has such wonderful relationships. He has such great broad intelligence. He is able to see everything.
His main workspace will be the quarterback’s room. I simply adore his prior experience. I had previously coached him in L.A. I always assumed that this was the path he would take. In fact, he told me he was going to start coaching when we played in Minnesota earlier in the season, and I was like, “Okay, tell me when you’re going to become a coach.”
“He’s just a guy I’ve always respected for the way he approached his work, the way he got ready for games, and the way he supported Jared (Goff) in that role as our backup. In fact, at the time of our interview, he was preparing for an interview in Chicago.
and it happened to be during the NFC Championship Game, which I wasn’t particularly interested in watching. In the second part, I immediately got on the Zoom call with him, and he showed me the presentation he was going to make (during his interview). When you finish that interview, I think you should come up to Green Bay, I told him. It looks pretty good. It surprises me that they allowed him to exit the building as well. They did, however, attempt to acquire him; perhaps we had more to offer, but we are fortunate to have him. I firmly believe that this man will have a great future with us and in the coaching industry in particular.
Leave a Reply