Boston College needs a new football coach. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Jeff Hafley is leaving the Eagles to become the new defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
Hafley replaced Steve Addazio at BC in 2020 and compiled a record of 22-26 there, including going 12-22 in ACC play. The Eagles were bowl-eligible in three of his four seasons, and beat SMU in the Fenway Bowl this season.
Hafley previously spent seven years in the NFL as a defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13), Cleveland Browns (2014-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016-18). He then spent one year as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State before taking the BC job.
Citing a source, Thamel reports that Hafley's reasons for leaving BC and heading to Green Bay "are rooted in both the overall state of college football and the opportunity to work for one of the NFL’s most respected franchises."
"He wants to go coach football again in a league that is all about football," a source told ESPN, according to Thamel. "College coaching has become fundraising, NIL and recruiting your own team and transfers. There's no time to coach football anymore."
From a BC perspective, all eyes will now turn to athletic director Blake James, who took over the department in 2022, and the coaching search that will begin immediately.