Mike Florio ,
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The addition of Micah Parsons has given Green Bay’s defense a B-12 shot . As it relates to the career of Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, “ I think it moved .”
And it will likely move in the direction of an NFL head-coaching job.
Eyebrows were raised when Hafley quit as head coach at Boston College to become an NFL defensive coordinator. It was, seemingly, a conscious half-step back in the hopes of taking a major step forward.
The major step forward the Green Bay defense has taken with the addition of Parsons will help Hafley get the boost he needs to take over an NFL team of his own.
The routine is well known. Much of landing in the center of the hiring-cycle radar screen entails being in the right place at the right time. Hafley has the reins of a Packers defense that could anchor a deep playoff run.
It’s already started. Praise will be heaped on Hafley during game broadcasts. Cutaways to his position in the coaching booth will become more common. More and more media voices will start mentioning him as a viable NFL head coach.
After all, unlike many coordinators who get promoted to a level at which they may or may not thrive, Hafley has four years of experience as a major-college head coach. And this is his ninth season as an NFL assistant coach.
So, yeah, the 46-year-old Hafley will be on the short list for January. The better the Packers do, the more seriously owners whose teams inevitably have vacancies will take Hafley as a head-coaching candidate.
While it may have happened anyway, having Parsons fall into Hafley’s lap (thanks to Jerry Jones’s gross mismanagement of Micah’s contract) makes it even more likely.
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