In terms of temporary housing, Jeff Hafley could do a lot worse than Lodge Kohler.
Lodge Kohler, located adjacent to Titletown and across Ridge Road from the new Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator’s Lambeau Field office, has two restaurants (Taverne in the Sky and the Leaps & Bounds Café), the Waters Spa (where Hafley could get anything from a hydrotherapy massage to a “Green and Gold Pedicure” to a $42 haircut and $32 beard trim), and suites decorated with sepia-toned photographs from the Packers’ rich history.
Gina, his wife, and the couple’s two daughters, Hope and Leah, do not share Hafley’s opulent accommodations at the AAA four-diamond luxury hotel.
And, while the soon-to-be 45-year-old Hafley would rather have them here than finish the school year back east — “It’s really hard,” Hafley admitted before flying out to Boston to spend the weekend with them — their absence has allowed Hafley to dive headfirst into his new job over the past two weeks, free of the pull of the family dinner table or the girls’ school and extracurricular activities.
“You don’t have to be home because there’s no one to see,” Hafley went on to say. “So, you just stay here at night and watch film.”
To be honest, as much as he misses his family, Hafley has enjoyed all of his film study, as his four-year tenure as Boston College’s head coach entailed far more off-the-field responsibilities than pure football — especially with the introduction of the transfer portal and players’ name, image, and likeness rights.
Being the Packers’ defensive coordinator may be a thankless position. Is Jeff Hafley ready for this?
So far, he’s enjoyed what he’s seen from the guys he’s inherited, particularly outside linebackers-turned-defensive ends Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, and Lukas Van Ness, as well as linebacker Quay Walker, as he tries to figure out how to use them in his standard 4-3 scheme.
Hafley has also met extensively with coach Matt LaFleur, whose concept for the defense is based on a style of play rather than a specific system.
“I want us to be fast, physical, and attack the ball,” LaFleur stated. “We will be a little more vision-based on the back end, and I think that’s a great opportunity to be able to go out there and generate takeaways.”
Matt LaFleur of the Packers believes that this player was meant to become a coach. Now he is a crucial staff member.
Herein lays what should be the most intriguing aspect of the Packers’ transfer from Joe Barry’s system to Hafley’s.
To have that greater “vision,” the Packers’ cornerbacks can’t always play in-your-face, up-at-the-line-of-scrimmage press-man coverage, which Hafley has long preferred as a defensive backs coach.
“Not every snap,” Hafley explained, “but I do like to press people.”
And, as any die-hard Packers fan will tell you, the most frustrating aspect of Barry’s keep-everything-in-front-of-you, umbrella-style scheme — designed to allow short gains underneath but prevent explosive plays while stiffening inside the 20-yard line — was when defensive backs would line up far off the line of scrimmage, giving opposing receivers wide cushions.
Consider setting up 8 yards off the line on third-and-5.
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However, if LaFleur’s mandate is for the defensive backfield to have superior vision of the football, that means playing more zone coverage than man coverage. So the transition from Barry to Hafley will not be as straightforward as the Packers shifting from zone coverage to massive jam-at-the-line man-to-man coverage.
“The things I believe in defense, whether you’re playing 3-4 or 4-3, press man — which I do love — (or) zone coverages, vision and break, quarters, match, it comes down to, can you take your players who you have and put them in the best position to succeed?” Hafley explained. “Can you take your players and optimize their abilities?
“That is our job. Our objective is to place the players in the best position to succeed and make plays, which is accomplished through a scheme, correct? Many aspects of the system may appear to be simpler, but they are really intricate. We want to make things simple for the players so they can play quickly, don’t have to think, and can be confident without fear of making mistakes.”
What Hafley and LaFleur envision for their new iteration of the defense is a unit that can play a different style of zone coverage that will result in fewer moments of confusion than what the players ran under Barry, then switch to press-man coverage when Hafley wants to blitz and ratchet up pressure on opposing
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As a result, fans can expect to hear the phrase “vision and break” a lot in the coming months, as Hafley believes that style allows his defense to be aggressive in its mindset while still playing zone coverage, as interceptions are harder to come by in man coverage because cornerbacks frequently have their backs to the quarterback and don’t see the ball come out.
“You’ve got to have changeups, and you have to have calls that complement one another,” Hafley said. “Our zone coverages are based on vision and break, which allows our players to play quickly and without looking at or around for individuals.
