Hafley: Chance to join Packers’ staff was too tempting
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jeff Hafley says he wasn’t necessarily looking to get out of college football before he left his job as Boston College’s head coach to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafley, 44, said he simply received an opportunity that was too appealing to turn down. He cited the chance to work with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, the talent of Green Bay’s roster and the history of the Packers.
“As a guy that grew up loving football, it’s the Green Bay Packers,” Hafley said Thursday in his first news conference since making the move. “This is like the mecca of the football world to me and probably to most people who grew up loving football. Just being here and driving into Lambeau every day, it still feels surreal.”
Hafley, who went 22-26 in four seasons at Boston College, is among a handful of people who voluntarily left head coaching jobs at Football Bowl Subdivision programs to become assistants elsewhere.
These moves have come as the college game goes through big changes with players being permitted to transfer without sitting out a season and having the opportunity to profit from their name, image and likeness.
Chip Kelly left UCLA after going 35-34 in six seasons to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Shawn Elliott, a former South Carolina interim head coach, rejoined the Gamecocks as tight ends coach and running game coordinator after a 41-44 record in seven seasons at Georgia State.
South Alabama’s Kane Wommack and Buffalo’s Maurice Linguist left their respective head coaching positions to join new Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer’s staff.
Hafley’s move was unique because he left the college ranks entirely to move to the NFL. Most head coaches who make this transition do it for another head coaching opportunity, such as when Jim Harbaugh took over the Los Angeles Chargers after leading Michigan to the national title.
Although Hafley said it was difficult to leave Boston College and the “players that I loved, staff that I loved, the leadership at the school,” he acknowledged his job had changed quite a bit from when he arrived in 2020.
“When I got the BC job, COVID hit,” Hafley said. “I got to know my team over Zoom. We had masks on in practice and that was way different than anything I’d never experienced. Then the next year the transfer portal came in, which was like, all right, now I have to recruit players, but I also have to keep the guys that are on my team from leaving. There’s no contracts, so you recruit a guy and develop a guy, and all of a sudden he can leave.
Coyotes to terminate Ruzicka’s contract after video surfaces
The Arizona Coyotes have put forward Adam Ruzicka on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. The move comes after Ruzicka posted to social media a video of a himself with a white powder appearing to be cocaine and a credit card on a counter. The team announced Friday that Ruzicka was going on waivers for termination purposes and said it would have no further comment at this time. Ruzicka is in the second season of a two-year contract worth $1.525 million. He has only been with the Coyotes for about a month since they claimed him off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 25. The 24-year-old from Slovakia has no points in three games with Arizona after nine in 39 with Calgary. He has played in 117 NHL games.
Saturday, Feb. 24 (All times Eastern)
AUTO RACING
11:30 a.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
2 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: The Fr8 208, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
5 p.m.
FS1 — NASCAR Xfinity Series: The RAPTOR King of Tough 250, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.
BOWLING
7:30 p.m.
FS1 — PBA: The Indiana Classic, Anderson, Ind.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S) 12 p.m.
BTN — Indiana at Penn St. CBS — Houston at Baylor CBSSN — Charleston Towson
ESPN —
Syracuse
ESPN2 — Missouri at Arkansas 1 p.m.
SECN — Vanderbilt at Florida 2 p.m.
ACCN — Boston College at NC State
CBS — Washington at Arizona CBSSN — North Dakota at North Dakota St.
ESPN — Duke at Wake Forest ESPN2 — West Virginia at Iowa St.
ESPNU — East Carolina at Rice 2:15 p.m.
BTN — Iowa at Illinois
2:30 p.m.
USA — St. Bonaventure at UMass
3:30 p.m.
SECN — South Carolina at Mississippi
4 p.m.
ACCN — Georgia Tech at Miami (Fla.)
CBS — Alabama at Kentucky CBSSN — Air Force at New Mexico
ESPN — North Carolina at
Notre Dame at at
Virginia
ESPN2 — Oklahoma St.
ESPNU — UTSA at North Texas SPECTRUM — UC Irvine at UC San Diego
4:30 p.m.
USA — George Mason at Loyola Chicago
5 p.m.
PAC-12N — Oregon Stanford
5:30 p.m.
CW — Virginia Pittsburgh
FS2 — Butler at Seton Hall
6 p.m.
CBSSN — Georgetown DePaul
ESPN — Texas at Kansas ESPN2 — Appalachian St. at Marshall
ESPNU — Missouri Belmont
SECN — Auburn at Georgia
7 p.m.
PAC-12N — Oregon at California 7:30 p.m.
MWN — Boise St. at Wyoming 7:45 p.m.
CW — Florida St. at Clemson
8 p.m.
CBSSN — Colorado St. at UNLV ESPN — Texas A&M at Tennessee
ESPN2 — Washington St. at Arizona St.
ESPNU — Charlotte at Tulsa FOX — Villanova at UConn 8:30 p.m.
SECN — Mississippi St. at LSU 9 p.m.
PAC-12N — Utah at Colorado 10 p.m.
CBSSN — San Diego St. at Fresno St.
ESPN — Southern Cal at UCLA ESPN2 — Santa Clara at Gonzaga
ESPNU — San Diego at Saint Mary’s (Calif.)
WCCN — Loyola Marymount (Calif.) at Pacific
COLLEGE (WOMEN’S)
12 p.m.
ESPNU — MTSU at W. Kentucky FOX — Villanova at Creighton
Oklahoma
St.
Tech
St. at at at at at
BASKETBALL
Sánchez guaranteed $3M by Brewers, could earn $14M
PHOENIX – Gary Sánchez is guaranteed $3 million in his one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, can earn an additional $4 million this year depending on the condition of his right wrist and could make $14 million over two seasons. The catcher’s deal includes a $3 million salary for this year. There is a buyout of the option if it is not exercised, but the buyout amount depends on days on the active roster this year plus days on the major league injured list with what is defined as a “qualifying injury” specified as fractured bone or torn ligament in any part of the body other than his right wrist. There would be no buyout for fewer than 60 days, $1 million for 60-89, $2 million for 90-119, $3 million for 120-149 and $4 million for 150 or more. The deal includes a $1 million assignment bonus if traded. 2 p.m.
FOX — Oklahoma Oklahoma
9:30 p.m.
FS1 — UNLV at Nevada COLLEGE FOOTBALL
4 p.m.
NFLN — HBCU Legacy Bowl: Team Gaither vs. Team Robinson, New Orleans COLLEGE GYMNASTICS (WOMEN’S)
4:30 p.m.
BTN — Big Ten Championships: Meet #2, East Lansing, Mich. COLLEGE HOCKEY (MEN’S) 6:30 p.m.
BTN —
Michigan
COLLEGE HOCKEY (WOMEN’S) 9 p.m.
BTN — Ohio St. at Wisconsin COLLEGE LACROSSE (WOMEN’S)
12 p.m.
ACCN — Clemson at Duke
6 p.m.
ACCN —
Louisville
FISHING
8 a.m.
FS1 — Bassmaster Elite Series: The 2024 Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend, Many, La.
GOLF
4:30 a.m.
GOLF — DP World Tour: The Magical Kenya Open, Third Round, Muthaiga Golf Club, Nairobi, Kenya
8 a.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour Champions: The Hassan II, Third Round, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco
1 p.m.
GOLF — PGA Tour: The Mexico Open At Vidanta, Third Round, Vidanta Vallarta, Vallarta, Mexico
3 p.m.
NBC — PGA Tour: The Mexico Open At Vidanta, Third Round, Vidanta Vallarta, Vallarta, Mexico
10:30 p.m.
GOLF — LPGA Tour: The Honda LPGA Thailand, Final Round, Siam Country Club - Pattaya Old Course, Chonburi,
St.
Notre Dame
Virginia Tech at at at
Thailand
HORSE RACING
8 a.m.
FS2 — The Saudi Cup: From Abdulaziz Racetrack, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 p.m.
FS2 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races
MLB BASEBALL
1 p.m.
MLBN — Spring Philadelphia vs. Dunedin, Fla.
NBA BASKETBALL
8:30 p.m.
ABC — Boston at New York NHL HOCKEY
12 p.m.
ABC & ESPN+ — St. Louis at Detroit
3 p.m.
ABC & ESPN+ — NY Rangers at Philadelphia
7 p.m.
NHLN — Toronto at Colorado SAILING
1 a.m. (Sunday)
CBSSN — SailGP: Event 8 - Day 2, Sydney
SKIING
1 p.m.
CNBC — FIS: Alpine Skiing World Cup, Olympic Valley, Calif. SKIING/SNOWBOARDING
4 p.m.
CNBC — FIS: Freestyle World Championships, Olympic Valley, Calif.
SOCCER (MEN’S)
10 a.m.
USA — Premier League: Nottingham Forest at Aston Villa
12:30 p.m.
NBC — Premier Manchester City Bournemouth
4:30 p.m.
FOX — MLS: Seattle at LAFC TENNIS
10 a.m.
TENNIS — Dubai-WTA Singles Final
3 p.m.
TENNIS — Rio de Janeiro-ATP Semifinals
10 p.m.
TENNIS — Los Cabos-ATP Singles Final
Training: Toronto,
League: at AFC
The offense he has brought from Seattle, after learning it under Sean McVay with the Rams, is a key part of the success he had with Smith.
“I felt different quarterbacks have been able to step foot into the system, be able to learn it quickly and that starts with us being able to teach it in a good and efficient manner where they understand it and then be able to go,” Waldron said.
Now he relishes the opportunity to work with Fields or a potentially newly drafted quarterback in it.
“Yeah, I think when you look at it from either lens right now obviously it’s a unique spot in the draft to have the first overall pick, (and) the ninth overall pick, just from an organization in general, you know, it’s not going to happen too often,” Waldron said. “And again, every year is so individually based. This is that year.
“And then, also the core, the group of players that is already in place on offense, including the quarterback that played at a high level (last year) and that’s having displayed the ability to win football games and make plays. So I think the combination of those two things is really intriguing.”
Whichever player is at quarterback, Waldron thinks his own experience calling plays for Pete Carroll can meet Eberflus’ expectations for adaptability.
“You know, the more reps you accumulate, the more situations that are put in front of you, the more and more natural it becomes to react with a positive decision in those scenarios right there,” Waldron said.
For Washington, it’s a return to a familiar place. He started his NFL coaching career in 2008 as a Bears defensive assistant under Lovie Smith.
After being a defensive coordinator in Carolina and defensive line coach in Buffalo, he succeeds Alan Williams. He resigned in Week 3 of the 2023 season and Eberflus called defensive plays the rest of the way as that group improved to 12th in the league.
It didn’t hurt when the Bears traded for edge rusher Montez Sweat, whose arrival triggered the resurgence. Washington was working with players such as Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown and Tommie Harris when he was previously with the Bears.
“We’d like to be, we’re going to be, a team that generates pressure with our front four,” Washington said. “We’re going to build the best pass rush in football. That happens to be, fortunately, an area that I’ve had tremendous success with and we have the personnel to get that done.”