John Lynch knows a thing or two about what it takes to make the Super Bowl.
Lynch, the general manager who built two San Francisco 49ers teams that made it to Super Sunday, and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as a player in 2002, also crossed paths with new Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley when Hafley served as the Niners’ defensive backs coach.
Ahead of Hafley’s first season as the Packers’ defensive play-caller, Lynch believes Green Bay’s defense is in good hands.
“Nice move for the Packers,” Lynch told reporters at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine when asked his thoughts on Hafley, who was on the 49ers’ staff from 2016 to 2018.
The Packers are hoping that Hafley’s experience of rising from being a position coach to running a major college football program will help lead a turnaround for a defense that underperformed down the stretch of the 2023 season.
“Haf’s a special dude,” Lynch told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “He’s got a lot of knowledge about football. I’ve known about Haf for a long time, coached my good buddy and former teammate, Rhonde Barber.
“He’s hit all the steps; being a secondary coach, being a coordinator at Ohio State, being a head coach at Boston College, for him to come back, part of that is what’s going on in college football and part of that is the guy just loves coaching defense. This brings him back to his roots.”
What Drew Packers’ Matt Lafleur to Jeff Hafley
After allowing safety Darnell Savage to test free agency by allowing his contract to void, the Packers’ defensive backfield could look significantly different when the 2024 season kicks off.
According to head coach Matt LaFleur, Hafley’s past experience as a secondary coach proved instrumental in his hiring as defensive coordinator.
“I would say definitely,” LaFleur told reporters when asked about Hafley’s defensive back background being a key factor. “Especially in this league, it’s such a pass-dominant league. That was definitely one of the most appealing things to me was his ability to lead from the back end. But I think he’s got a great knowledge base on all three levels.”
Hafley has extensive experience as a secondary coach, serving in that role with the Buccaneers in 2013, the Cleveland Browns during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and finally three seasons in San Francisco from 2016 to 2018.
It also can’t hurt that Hafley has experience as the Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and as Boston College’s head coach, when it comes to leading a defense.
Now in Green Bay, Hafley says his emphasis is going to be on allowing his defensive backs the flexibility to freelance a bit.
“Our zone coverages are built off vision and break that allows our guys to play fast,” Hafley told reporters, “so they’re not looking at people and looking around for people. The essence of playing vision-and-break coverage is when the ball’s thrown, you have two or three guys going 100 miles an hour to the ball carrier.”
Darnell Savage Likely Moving on From Packers
Savage saved some of his best performances in a Packers uniform for two of his potentially last for Green Bay.
Savage returned an interception for a touchdown in the Packers’ playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys and followed that moment up by posting four total tackles in Green Bay’s NFC Divisional Round loss to the 49ers.
However, even with Hafley’s added emphasis on playmakers on the back end of a defense, Savage’s agent says the 2019 first-round pick is set to test free agency.
“Darnell loved his time in Green Bay, and we remain optimistic that a deal can get done before the league year,” Seth Katz told ESPN. “But realistically, the window for free agent communication is around the corner, and there will be significant interest in Darnell.”
Through the first four seasons of his career, Savage has posted 302 total tackles with 1.0 sack and 9 interceptions, with 1 returned for a touchdown.
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John Lynch Praises Packers’ Polarizing Defensive Coordinator Hire: ‘Nice Move’