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The anti-Joe Barry: what Jeff Hafley's defense will look like with the Packers
Green Bay Packers' head coach Matt LaFleur decided to take a 180° turn. By hiring former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley, the Packers will run a completely different style of defense, starting with a transition from 3-4 to 4-3 — a base that the Packers haven't run since 2008.
The differences between base schemes aren't so pronounced as they were in 2009, when the Packers made the transition to 3-4 under Dom Capers. Currently, teams run nickel defense most of the time, so they play with four down linemen either way. However, there are structural differences in alignment and gap strategy.
But Jeff Hafley's differences when compared to Joe Barry go much beyond the base. The Packers will have a single-high centric defense — goodbye, two-high/quarters-heavy defense. And Hafley is also much more aggressive to send blitzes and to apply man coverage.
"Nobody loves single-high and middle-of-the-field closed coverages more than Haf," said Mitchell Wolfe, a staff writer for BC Eagle Insider. "Pretty aggressive with blitzing. Mostly a 4-3, even front guy, but has some more diverse stuff in his bag. He loves man coverage."
Personnel fit
The big problem for the Packers over the last couple of years was a perception that Joe Barry (and Matt LaFleur) wanted to run a scheme that wasn't ideal for the defensive personnel they have. Cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, for example, are well suited to play man coverage — and Barry's zone-heavy scheme doesn't take advantage of what they do best.
It can also be applied to safety Darnell Savage. He played better under Mike Pettine, who allowed him to be closer to the line of scrimmage. With Barry, Savage was forced to play as a deep safety, something he isn't equipped for. His value for the Packers and his perception around the league went south.
What the NFL has seen
Jeff Hafley has a big NFL track record in terms of varied defensive schemes. He's worked under Greg Schiano, Mike Pettine, Jim O'Neil (who was Pettine's coordinator with the Cleveland Browns), and Robert Saleh.
The Saleh connection is particularly interesting, because the New York Jets' head coach is a close friend of Matt LaFleur. That relationship certainly had a weight on the Packers' process to hire Hafley.
Jeff Hafley worked three years in San Francisco, the last two of which under Saleh. And the 49ers ran a 4-3 base defense, with a heavy usage of cover 3 — Robert Saleh has gone through a transition over the years, but his roots as a defensive mind come from the Seattle Seahawks under Pete Carroll. Greg Schiano liked to run simulated pressures, something that has been trending again in the NFL, and that's something Hafley can take advantage of as well.
It will be a process to understand exactly what Jeff Hafley will run as the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator. After all, he had several different perspectives to absorb, and it's yet to be known how he will adapt his college approach to the NFL.
However, it's clear that Matt LaFleur wanted something completely different from what they had with Joe Barry. And that's what they will get.
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