Jeff Hafley calls recent challenges in college football 'a storm' after departure for Packers

During his four years at Boston College, Jeff Hafley saw plenty of changes in college football. Of course, it all started with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 – which had a worldwide impact.

As NIL and the transfer portal came to be, though, Hafley said it felt like “a storm” as the sport evolved. When he left to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported they both played roles in his decision to leave a college head coaching job for an NFL coordinator position.

Hafley knows he’s making an interesting move by heading to Green Bay, which he said was because of the franchise’s history. That said, he pointed out just how much the sport transformed occurred as he took over a program for the first time.

“It is unique,” Hafley said. “And I don’t want to speak for other college coaches. I think being a college head coach, it’s a great job. It’s a great position. How did it change? The first year I got back to college when I left at Ohio State, it was pretty normal. And then, when I got the BC job, COVID hit. So I got to know my team over Zoom, we had masks on in practice and that was way different than anything I’ve ever experienced.

“Then the next year, the transfer portal came in, which he was like, alright, now I have to recruit players but I also have to keep the guys that are on my team from leaving. There’s no contract, so you recruit a guy and develop a guy and all of a sudden, he can leave. And then came paying players, NIL. So it was a storm, basically, since I got the head job of things that kept getting thrown at you. But you do the best you can and you adapt.”

While Hafley noted he still thinks college football is still special, he reiterated his desire for change.

“Certainly, college football has changed,” Hafley said. “And I do think that – I’m not going to get on a soapbox here today – but what I will say is I do think there needs some things to change. But it’s still a great game and there are still great coaches, but it changed a lot since I started that job.”

Jeff Hafley had a 22-26 record at Boston College. Before that, he spent even seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers as a defensive backs coach from 2012-18. He then returned to the college ranks at Ohio State as defensive coordinator and DBs coach in 2019 before taking over at Boston College in 2020.