Losing this Jeff Hafley assistant would be big blow to Packers defense

Paul Bretl | 1/29/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A second of Jeff Hafley’s defensive assistants on the Packers’ coaching staff have now interviewed for a defensive coordinator opening this offseason. The first was defensive pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley who interviewed with Atlanta–a role that’s since been filled–and the latest was linebackers coach Anthony Campanile interviewing for the Jacksonville defensive coordinator role.

At the end of the day, it’s the players who deserve the credit for the plays being made on the field. But oftentimes, behind every successful player or position group is a coach helping to put those players in advantageous situations.

“I think Campanile does a hell of a job with that whole room,” said Matt LaFleur after the Seattle game. “Those guys have all gotten better throughout the course of the season—whether it’s Quay, whether it’s Eric, whether it’s Isaiah, they are all improving. Hopper. Every guy in that room. And it’s because of the consistent coaching that Campanile does.”

In Campanile’s first year as the Packers’ linebackers coach and run game coordinator, the play of this unit was elevated compared to years past. Now, of course, having a talent like Edgerrin Cooper in the middle–whose speed and athleticism allows him to impact the game in a variety of ways–certainly helps a lot.

But there’s a lot that goes into the progression we saw from Cooper as the year went on. It’s the work he puts in, it’s the gained experience through reps, it’s time in the film room, and it’s coaching. If a rep is off in practice, players get back in line and do it again until it’s done correctly.

“He wants us to get the job done,” said Cooper. “He’s a coach that never relaxes. He wants the best for us. Nice, physical and get downhill and make plays. Do what we need to do.”

Along with Cooper’s emergence, Quay Walker put together his best season as a pro. Again, as the season went on and he got more comfortable with the new scheme and his new role as the Mike linebacker, confidence was gained and strides were made. From Weeks 12-14, prior to Walker’s ankle injury, you name it, whether it be run defense, pressuring the quarterback, or plays in coverage, and Walker ranked among the best at his position group during that span.

We also saw steady play from Isaiah McDuffie, and whenever Eric Wilson was called upon to fill a larger role, he was ready and often came up with some impact plays.

To again be clear, first and foremost, this is a credit to those players above all else. They were the ones on the field executing. But behind their performances was Campanile.

“I have a huge amount of respect for him as a coach,” Hafley said. “His knowledge, how hard he coaches, his intensity, but more importantly as a person. He’s an extremely loyal friend, he always has been. He’s a guy that no matter where I’ve been, if I picked up the phone and needed anything I know he’d be right there.”

With Campanile also holding the title of run game coordinator, the Packers run defense made massive strides in 2024, operating as one of the best in football in that regard. Green Bay finished the season ranked third in yards per carry allowed and seventh in rushing yards per game, which included holding opponents to under 100 yards for the first time since 2009.

The linebackers also played a crucial role in the team’s ability to drum up pressures. With the four-man front struggling to get home, Hafley had to manufacture pressure on the quarterback through either blitzes or simulated pressures to throw some eye candy and confusion at the offensive line. Despite the inconsistencies up front, the Packers’ defense as a whole would rank in the middle of the pack in pressure rate, with the linebackers being a big part of that.

“I think these guys are totally bought into what we’re teaching,” said Campanile about the run defense. “I firmly believe that there’s a progression each play. Your eyes, your feet, your hands, and then there’s got to be a violent finish. That’s how every football play should start and end. If your eyes are right and you’ll feet will be right, you’ll get there, and your hands will buy you time.

“That’s some of the fundamental things about defending the run, those are essential. Your body position, where your feet are, not compromising your base, playing with great hands and technique, pad level. Some people talk about those things, but you’ve got to drill those things every day, almost like to the point where it’s a martial art.”

As the defensive coordinator, Hafley establishes the vision for what he wants the defense to be and what the game-plans need to look like on a weekly basis. It’s then up to the position coaches to relay that messaging to their players and make sure that throughout the week when it comes to prep, fundamentals, technique, and the understanding of the why behind each player’s role, those standards are upheld.

Now, how each coach goes about accomplishing these tasks is up to each individual. When it comes to Campanile, you can assume that some sort of boxing clip or reference is going to be baked in. As Hafley put it, Campanile is a “historian” when it comes to boxing.

“That’s all he talks about, said Cooper. “That’s all. Throwing jabs, that’s something he wants us to reference to – throwing jabs. You’re going to take some punches sometimes during the game. It’s just all about how you respond.”

Hafley and Campanile had an existing relationship that goes beyond their time in Green Bay this past year. In fact, as Hafley said, it goes back 15-plus years. The friendship began when Hafley was coaching Division-III and at the FCS level, while Campanile was still coaching high school. Hafley would visit Campanile’s school for recruiting visits and the two hit it off.

“I’d go to the school and we’d hang out,” Hafley said. “We’d meet up after and just talk football, draw plays, and then I got to pick, he came and visited me when I was at Pitt and we continued to have a really good friendship and relationship. A lot of that started with the respect I had for him and how hard he worked. I tried to get him to college football and then it worked out. We’ve just become really close.”

While there was a lot of overlap between the two in where they coached during their careers, the two had never had the opportunity to work together until this season. So when Hafley had the opportunity to build out his staff, he knew exactly who he wanted as his linebackers coach–a role that Campanile had held with the Miami Dolphins since the 2020 season.

“We were texting,” said Hafley, “we were on two separate planes on the way home from the last game (Seattle) and we were texting back and forth and he just wrote me a text back, ‘how cool is this? This is what we always talked about doing.’ So it’s actually really neat to finally get a chance to coach with him because I hadn’t before. I feel like I have, but we just hadn’t. What a great job he’s done with the linebackers, him and Sean Duggan, with those young guys and obviously it’s shown.”

As of now, Campanile is one of four known candidates who have interviewed for the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator opening. This also isn’t the first time he’s interviewed for a coordinator role, doing so last offseason with the New York Giants.

For the reasons mentioned, losing Campanile would be a huge loss for this Packers’ defense, and even if Campanile does return for the 2025 season to Green Bay, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he takes that next step. The results in the Packers’ linebacker room speak for themselves.