Packers make a hire Matt LaFleur has wanted for a long time to address a major void on the coaching staff
Bobby Babich will be a big part of the staff under defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
The Green Bay Packers have made another impactful hire for their defensive coaching staff. Three days after deciding that former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon will be the new defensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur is hiring Bobby Babich as his new passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Tom Pelissero first reported the news.
Bobby Babich interviewed for the Packers’ DC job back in 2024 and was one of LaFleur’s favorite candidates. At the time, Babich was promoted by the Buffalo Bills, though, and the Packers ended up hiring Jeff Hafley.
Babich is 42 and has been in the NFL since 2011, with brief stints with the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns. After a year at FIU in 2016, he returned to the league with the Bills. He climbed the coaching ladder, serving as an assistant defensive backs coach, safeties coach, linebackers coach, and, finally, a defensive coordinator under Sean McDermott over the past two years.
Two hires at once
Babich will replace two Packers defensive coaches at once. The first one is Ryan Downard, the former defensive backs coach who followed Jeff Hafley to the Miami Dolphins as a passing game coordinator. The other is Derrick Ansley, the Packers’ passing game coordinator for the past two years — his future hasn’t been reported yet, but it’s possible that Ansley will be let go.
Bills’ perspective
Our Bills writer at A to Z Sports, Adam Zientek, shared his perspective about Babich and what the Packers add with him on the staff.
“Bobby Babich has been a staple in Buffalo since joining the team in 2017. He served as the safeties coach until 2022, was promoted to linebackers coach through 2024, and became the defensive coordinator for Buffalo in 2024. Things got a little rocky in 2025, with former head coach Sean McDermott admitting that he took over defensive play-calling duties from Babich.
“Buffalo struggled mightily against the run, finishing 28th in the league in 2025, and an area that the team desperately needs to clean up moving forward. McDermott described the move to assist with play-calling as a joint effort to improve performance across the unit. At a critical point of the season, the head coach was forced to jump in and take action.
“That’s a slight indictment on Babich as a play-caller, but Buffalo was ravaged by injuries to the defensive front and across the entire field, making it difficult for Babich to work without a full deck of cards. However, this could have just been McDermott’s MO and not indicative of the work Babich has done.
“McDermott has a history of taking over play-calling duties, as he did when Leslie Frazier was the defensive coordinator for Buffalo. Babich is an up-and-coming defensive coordinator who has shown flashes in Buffalo.
“While the team was nearly dead last against the run, they were first in terms of passing defense, allowing the fewest yards per game in the NFL. In 2024, in Babich’s first season as defensive coordinator, the team ranked 11th in scoring defense, allowing just 21.6 points per game and 17th in total defense, allowing 341.5 yards per game. In 2025, the Bills were seventh in the league in total defense. There’s a lot to be excited about with the hire of Babich. The Packers got a good one.”
More importantly, the Packers won’t lean on what Babich wasn’t successful at doing in Buffalo — Jonathan Gannon will be the play-caller. And LaFleur got another experienced assistant to build a strong staff.
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