Jeff Hafley's departure kicks off offseason of change for Packers' coaching staff

The Packers lost Jeff Hafley to the Dolphins on Monday. His departure won't be the only change to the coaching staff this offseason.

The Green Bay Packers have officially begun the search for their next defensive coordinator.

Jeff Hafley, the man charged with running their defense for the last two seasons, accepted the head-coaching position with the Miami Dolphins on Monday. In South Beach, he joins former Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan, whom the Dolphins also hired earlier this month.

The move certainly didn’t catch the Packers off guard.

“I fully anticipate that Hafley’s going to do a great job on the interview,” head coach Matt LaFleur said during his season-closing press conference. “I fully anticipate him getting one of these. I’d be so happy for him, because he deserves it. He’s a great friend. He’s a great man. He’s a great coach. I’d hate to see him leave for us, but at the same time, that’s what this business is all about.”

Hafley landing in Miami seemed a fait accompli for some time. In addition to the Dolphins securing a familiar face in Sullivan to run the personnel department, their list of head-coaching candidates included Jacksonville Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile, another former Green Bay assistant. The presence of Sullivan in the front office provides the type of alignment that Hafley, like all coaches, covets when considering career moves.

The Dolphins reportedly signed Hafley to a five-year contract, a fairly standard length for a first-time NFL head coach. That deal puts him on a parallel runway with Sullivan and should provide enough time for the team to undergo a necessary reset. Some or all of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Bradley Chubb won’t return to Miami for the 2026 season, adding to an already onerous dead-money figure of $35.5 million.

But the fallout from Hafley’s exit has only begun. In addition to identifying his replacement, the Packers have to brace for other potential departures as Hafley begins to assemble his new coaching staff.