GREEN BAY, Wis. — Matt LaFleur could see this one coming. Micah Parsons did not want to believe it.
Now, both the Green Bay Packers‘ coach and their star edge rusher must figure out life after Jeff Hafley. They lost their defensive coordinator Monday, when Hafley was hired for his first NFL head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins.
In Miami, Hafley will be reunited with former Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, who became the Dolphins’ general manager less than two weeks ago. Hafley was a candidate for more than half of the head coaching jobs in the NFL, which was why LaFleur began to prepare for the inevitability of Hafley’s departure after two seasons as Green Bay’s DC.
“I fully anticipate him getting one of these,” LaFleur said last week.
“We’ll make sure we have a good plan in place,” he added.
Parsons, when presented with the possibility that the Packers could lose Hafley, said: “Nah, Haf ain’t going nowhere.”
Perhaps Parsons was just trying to speak it into existence.
Shortly after Hafley was hired Monday, Parsons offered a congratulatory social media post: “Genuinely happy for haf! Great guy great person! Gonna miss his energy!”
Genuinely happy for haf! Great guy great person! Gonna miss his energy! https://t.co/GjzNPeRYle
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) January 19, 2026
From the moment Parsons arrived in Green Bay on Aug. 29, he spoke glowingly of Hafley, and that didn’t change after the season.
“I would say his ability to say ‘F it. Let’s go fight. Let’s keep it simple. This is who we are. This is what we do. Let’s make them beat us,'” Parsons said. “And his creativity. Him wanting to meet more and him challenging me as a player. It was kind of the same thing [Dan Quinn, his former Cowboys DC] did, give me the green light to be as good of a player as I want to be.
“That’s with other players. I think he challenges each group differently. He challenges [safety Xavier McKinney] to come in on the back end, get us in the best situation where they could play good ball. He challenges [linebacker Quay Walker] differently. I think he challenges everyone differently, has his own mindset and goals for each player, which is good, because all players aren’t the same.”
LaFleur lured Hafley from the head coaching job at Boston College two years ago after the Packers moved on from Joe Barry after the 2023 season. The Packers jumped from 17th to fifth overall in defense in Hafley’s first season. The were also top 10 against the run and in takeaways.
Before Parsons tore his left ACL against the Denver Broncos in Week 15, the Packers ranked sixth in total yards allowed, including eighth against both the run and the pass. They plummeted to finish 12th overall, 18th against the run and 11th against the pass — and then had a disastrous fourth-quarter in the wild-card playoff loss to the Bears, giving up 25 points.
Still, safety Javon Bullard said it would “suck” to lose Hafley.
“To see him get an opportunity, and to hear those talks, yeah, it sucks because he’s such a good defensive coordinator,” said Bullard, a second-year pro who hasn’t had another defensive coordinator in the NFL. “But you want him to succeed, you want him to be able to keep stacking his bread, keep taking care of his family, keep leveling up in his career. It would be huge for him, and we excited for him, we proud of him, but we hope he comes back.”
At least losing Hafley didn’t come as a surprise to LaFleur, who no doubt had a ready list of candidates with former Falcons coach Raheem Morris at or near the top of that list, according to multiple league sources. LaFleur and Morris worked together with both the Commanders and Falcons.
The two have remained close, and last year at the NFL annual meetings, LaFleur referred to Morris as “my guy.” It came up because LaFleur was told that Morris supported the Packers’ proposal to try to get the tush push play banned.
“That’s my guy,” LaFleur said at the time. “My guys are with me.”
LaFleur also could look to some of the candidates he interviewed for the job two years ago. That includes current NFL defensive coordinators Bobby Babich (Bills), Zach Orr (Ravens) and Dannard Wilson (Titans). All could be available if the new coaches with those teams don’t retain them.
LaFleur also could try to lure Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores from Minnesota. Flores is not under contract for 2026 and has interviewed for head coaching jobs and at least one other defensive coordinator opening. Flores was one of the front-runners to become the Packers’ head coach in 2019, a source said, before LaFleur got the job.
Gus Bradley, the 49ers assistant head coach, also might be on the list given his ties to 49ers’ DC Robert Saleh, one of LaFleur’s best friends. Bradley spent this past season working with Saleh in San Francisco. Matt Eberflus, the former Bears coach, who was recently fired as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, also is available.
If LaFleur promoted someone from within to replace Hafley, the most likely candidates would be defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, defensive pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley and defensive backs coach Ryan Downard. Both Covington and Ansley already have been defensive coordinators.
Hafley could try to take some of the Packers’ coaches — on both sides of the ball — with him. LaFleur was still in the evaluation phase of his own staff. A source Monday evening said LaFleur was still “working through” whether he would make any significant changes to his coaching staff after getting a contract extension Saturday night. That could include a complete overhaul at the coordinator spots if he decided to move on from Adam Stenavich (offense) and Rich Bisaccia (special teams).
One league source said that the extension would help LaFleur attract coaching candidates because of the stability at the top.
No matter what happens, the Packers will be on their fourth defensive coordinator since LaFleur took over as coach.
