The Green Bay Packers haven’t exactly had the start to the offseason that they were hoping for. While the team managed to sign head coach Matt LaFleur to a new contract shortly after their season came to an end, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley ended up leaving to take the Miami Dolphins‘ head coach opening.
Considering how Hafley had emerged as a top head coach candidate, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see him leave. However, he isn’t the only member of LaFleur’s staff who will be leaving Green Bay this offseason. As Hafley begins building out his coaching staff in Miami, he has taken two more of the Packers’ coaches, Ryan Downard and Sean Duggan, with him.
Packers Lose Ryan Downard, Sean Duggan to the Dolphins
In his two seasons with the Packers as their defensive coordinator, Hafley helped turn the unit into one of the top groups in the league. In 2025, with Green Bay’s offense stuck in the mud for long stretches of time, that put some extra strain on Hafley’s defense, but they frequently delivered the goods, even as injuries began to pile up late in the year.
Hafley will now be tasked with getting the Dolphins back on track. While the team experienced some success with former head coach Mike McDaniel, a rough campaign this past year ended up costing him his job. With a full-scale rebuild looming, it’s going to take some time for Hafley to turn things around in Miami.
Even with that being said, he needs to build out a strong coaching staff to help establish the proper culture within the building from the get-go. Unsurprisingly, Hafley has opted to take some of his fellow coaches from Green Bay with him to Miami. Downard will reportedly be a secondary coach for the Dolphins, while Duggan appears to be a top choice for Hafley at defensive coordinator.
“Green Bay Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and linebackers coach Sean Duggan are joining ex-Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley in Miami,” Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported.
Packers May Not Be Done Losing Coaches Just Yet
GettyPackers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich.
Losing these guys obviously isn’t ideal for LaFleur, as it means he will have to go out and find proper replacements. Hafley may not be done poaching coaches from LaFleur’s staff, but that’s to be expected. In a more surprising development, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich could be on his way out the door as well, as he recently interviewed for the Tennessee Titans‘ offensive coordinator opening (although it seems like Brian Daboll will earn that gig).
Even without all these coaching changes, the Packers had their work cut out for them this offseason. Now, LaFleur will have more work on his plate before Green Bay can even focus on improving its roster. So while losing Hafley, Downard, and Duggan is already bad enough, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more changes to the Packers coaching staff over the coming days.
Packers Lose Two More Coaches to the Dolphins as Jeff Hafley Builds Staff