Packers Don’t Expect To Retain QB Malik Willis
Following a successful two-year stint as Jordan Love‘s backup, quarterback Malik Willis will likely be playing elsewhere in 2026. GM Brian Gutekunst admitted that the Packers will likely lose their QB2 this offseason as Willis pursues an opportunity to compete for a starting spot, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport backs that sentiment, noting that a Willis departure “feels like a given.”
The former third-round pick out of Liberty was once viewed as a steal by the Titans, although the QB never had a chance to truly show his talent in Tennessee. He garnered three starts as a rookie but didn’t impress, completing barely 50 percent of his passes for 276 yards and three interceptions (he added another 123 rushing yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts). Following the addition of Will Levis in the 2023 draft, Willis was pushed further down the depth chart, and he attempted only five passes during that 2023 campaign.
Willis was traded to the Packers at the end of the 2024 preseason and was quickly pushed into action after Love suffered an MCL sprain in the season opener. Willis ended up guiding the Packers to wins in each of his two starts while filling in for Love, completing 25 of his 33 pass attempts for 324 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 114 yards and a score on the ground. Willis had a few more cameos throughout the 2024 campaign, tossing another touchdown and adding 24 rushing yards.
It took 11 games for him to make his first appearance of the 2025 campaign, but Willis still impressed in limited reps. He guided the team to a touchdown in a win over the Giants, and he added another passing touchdown and 44 rushing yards while relieving Love in a loss to the Bears. The Packers lost his Week 18 start to the Ravens, but he still completed 18 of his 21 pass attempts, tossed a touchdown, and found the end zone twice on the ground.
While Willis still only has six starts in four years, his successful cameos have set him up for a potential starting gig in 2026. The 26-year-old leads a free agent class that includes the likes of Daniel Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson. Willis could be seen as a logical bridge QB or a seat-warmer ahead of a young signal caller, or he could be added as competition for an incumbent. Either way, Willis will likely be viewed as more than a QB2, which should price out the Packers.
Extension Talks Between Packers, Tucker Kraft Will Happen In “Near Future”
After emerging as one of Jordan Love‘s preferred targets over the past two years, Tucker Kraft is now in line for an extension. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters that the front office has already been in contact with Kraft’s camp about “how the organization feels about him”, and extension talks “will happen in the near future,” per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
Kraft is currently rehabbing a torn ACL that ended his 2025 campaign prematurely. The 2026 season will represent the final year of the former third-round pick’s rookie contract.
After showing flashes as a rookie in 2023, Kraft had a breakout showing in 2024. After leaping fellow 2023 draftee Luke Musgrave on the depth chart, Kraft proceeded to haul in 50 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games. He was set to exceed those numbers in 2025. Through the first half of the season, the tight end was averaging a career-high 61.1 yards per game, and his six touchdowns had him on pace for double-digit scores.
Unfortunately, Kraft’s season ended in November after he suffered a serious knee injury. While the tight end isn’t targeting a specific return date, he did recently tell the team website that he’s hoping to be “bulletproof” by the start of the 2026 season. Kraft also noted that he didn’t experience any complications from his surgery.
Other than impending free agent Romeo Doubs, the Packers are set to return their same grouping of pass catchers in 2026. However, only 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden is attached to a contract beyond that campaign. While the team will surely look to lock in some of those receivers, it makes sense that the front office would put in a concerted effort to extend their pass-catching tight end.
While the injury may partly influence the Packers’ offer, the team is surely anticipating Kraft to command a lucrative long-term deal. $20MM in guarantees wouldn’t even put the player in the top-10 at his position, and a $14MM AAV would put him just inside the top-five among tight ends. 2022 fourth-round pick Jake Ferguson would likely be the starting point in negotiations; the Cowboys tight end inked a four-year, $52MM deal ($21.4MM guaranteed) last summer.
NFC Staff Notes: Cowboys, Pack, Rams
After interviewing Chidera Uzo-Diribe on Tuesday, the Cowboys are expected to hire the former Georgia assistant as their outside linebackers coach, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. As PFR’s Nikhil Mehta noted earlier this week, Uzo-Diribe helped develop OLBs Nolan Smith, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker into first-round picks during his time on Kirby Smart‘s coaching staff. He’ll now play a key role under new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Marcus Dixon will join Uzo-Diribe and Parker in Dallas as the team’s defensive line coach, Todd Archer of ESPN reports. A Cowboys D-lineman from 2008-10, Dixon began his coaching career as a Rams assistant in 2021. He spent 2022-23 leading the D-line in Denver alongside Parker, then the Broncos’ defensive backs coach. Dixon held the same position with the Vikings over the past two seasons. The Vikings allowed Dixon’s contract to expire after the season, and they’ve since found a replacement in Ryan Nielsen.
Stephen Bravo-Brown, previously the Browns’ assistant receivers coach, is also on his way to Dallas, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. It’s unclear which role Bravo-Brown will take with the Cowboys after he wore multiple hats over six years in Cleveland. Before working with receivers last season, Bravo-Brown spent time as a defensive quality control coach and a special teams assistant.
Here are more staff updates from the NFC:
- Longtime 49ers assistant defensive backs/safeties coach Daniel Bullocks is joining the Packers’ staff in an unspecified role, Zenitz relays. Bullocks, a defensive back with the Lions from 2006-09, spent nine seasons in San Francisco and coached the team’s safeties over the past seven years. Jimmie Ward, Jaquiski Tartt, Talanoa Hufanga, Tashaun Gipson, Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha are among 49ers safeties who enjoyed success under Bullocks.
- After hiring Bubba Ventrone as their special teams coordinator, the Rams have brought in Kyle Hoke as an assistant, per Wilson. A college coach for 13 years, Hoke jumped to the NFL for the first time last season and worked in Cleveland under Ventrone. Now in Los Angeles, the two will attempt to turn around a special teams unit that helped lead to the Rams’ downfall in 2025. ST gaffes were an all-too-frequent occurrence for the Rams during the regular season, and they reared their head in the playoffs with Xavier Smith fumbling a punt in an NFC title game loss to the Seahawks.
Dolphins To Hire Sean Duggan As DC
Another important hire on Jeff Hafley‘s Dolphins staff is being made. Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan is heading to Miami to become the team’s new defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. 
Once the Dolphins brought in Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager, signs increasingly pointed to Hafley following him to South Beach as head coach. As expected, that proved to be the case roughly two weeks ago. Hafley will have a familiar face at the coordinator spot on his first Miami staff.
The Dolphins interviewed Clint Hurtt for the position, but Duggan was recently named as the expected hire in this case. He and Hafley have worked together at the college and pro levels. Duggan worked as a graduate assistant at Ohio State before following Hafley to Boston College. The two continued to work alongside one another for Hafley’s two seasons as the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafely will call plays on defense during his first NFL head coaching stint. The coordinator spot will still of course be an important one, though, and Duggan will take on increased responsibilities with this new title. The 32-year-old was a defensive assistant in Green Bay in 2024 before coaching the team’s linebackers this past season. He will see an expanded purview during his first DC gig at the pro level.
Today’s news comes as little surprise but it confirms incumbent defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will not be retained for 2026. Weaver spent the past two seasons as Miami’s DC, and he was a popular target for head coaching interviews around the NFL during this year’s hiring cycle. Weaver, 45, was a finalist for the Cardinals’ gig but it went to Mike LaFleur earlier today. Late in the coordinator hiring process, Weaver will now seek out a new opportunity.
Miami ranked 24th in total defense and 22nd in points allowed last season. Improvement across the board will be sought out under Hafley, Duggan and Co. this season with the Dolphins aiming for sustained success under their new regime. Mike McDaniel managed a pair of wild-card appearances during his four-year tenure, but he did not post a playoff win and oversaw a team which regressed over time.
Bobby Slowik had already been promoted to offensive coordinator prior to today’s move. Chris Tabor is also in place as Miami’s new special teams coordinator. With Duggan now in place, many of Hafley’s most important hires have been taken care of.
Cowboys Add Derrick Ansley To Staff
New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker has been busy over the past few days working to piece together his staff. A notable name will be joining him in Dallas for 2026. 
Derrick Ansley has agreed to terms with the Cowboys, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports. This news marks an expected to end to his Packers tenure. Ansley worked as Green Bay’s defensive pass-game coordinator for each of the past two years. The team brought in Bobby Babich to fill that role earlier this week, however.
Ansley has not needed to wait long to find his next opportunity. The 44-year-old will join Ryan Smith in Dallas, per Archer. Smith was reported to be a Cowboys target recently, with the same also being true of outgoing Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr. Like Orr, Ansley has previously been a DC at the NFL level.
In 2023, Ansley was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Chargers. That move followed two years as a defensive backs coach with the Bolts but proved to be short-lived. Brandon Staley‘s midseason firing paved the way for a slew of changes on the sidelines and the eventual arrival of Jim Harbaugh. That led Ansley – who has also worked as a defensive coordinator at the college level (Tennessee in 2020 and ’21) – to Green Bay. He spent two years working under Jeff Hafley, who is now in place as the Dolphins’ head coach.
Ansley will hold the familiar titles of defensive pass-game coordinator and DBs coach, per Archer. He adds Smith will operate as Dallas’ secondary coach. Together, the two will be tasked with helping lead a needed turnaround in production from that unit. The Cowboys ranked last in the NFL in pass defense this season, a key reason why they fell short of the playoffs. A stronger showing in 2026 could help Ansley’s future coordinator stock; he interviewed for one DC opening during each of the past two hiring cycles.
Meanwhile, interviews with several other candidates for the Cowboys’ staff continued today. According to Archer, Steelers outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin, Eagles assistant linebacker coach Ronell Williams and former Vikings defensive line coach Marcus Dixon all conducted in-person interviews on Saturday. USC D-line coach/defensive run game coordinator Eric Henderson will meet with the team tomorrow.
NFC North Coaching Updates: Vikings, Petzing, Packers
Barring a departure for one of the two remaining open head coaching positions, the Vikings have fulfilled their biggest offseason wish of retaining defensive coordinator Brian Flores, even securing him long-term with a contract extension. While Flores is still around, assistant head coach Mike Pettine has retired, passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones landed a coordinator job with the Commanders, and the team moved on from offensive line coach Chris Kuper and allowed defensive line coach Marcus Dixon‘s contract to expire. 
Head coach Kevin O’Connell has been working to fill the roles left vacant by these departures in recent weeks. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the team has brought in Frank Smith to fill Pettine’s former role as assistant head coach. Smith, a former offensive coordinator with the Dolphins, learned under former play-calling head coach Mike McDaniel and could bring some of his influence to the offense. He’s also expected to help in run game planning. To replace Kuper, O’Connell promoted Keith Carter to offensive line coach. He was the team’s assistant OL coach last year but has served as a full-time position coach in the past and will return to that role in Minnesota next year.
On defense, Gerald Alexander will replace Jones as defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach. Alexander has bounced around since entering the NFL ranks of coaching in 2017, working DB coaching jobs with the Panthers, Dolphins, Steelers, and Raiders before landing in Minnesota. Flores worked with Alexander during his stops in Miami and Pittsburgh, so if he doesn’t get a head coaching position, Alexander will be reuniting with him in Minnesota. Replacing Dixon will be Ryan Nielsen, who will add defensive run game coordinator to Dixon’s original DL coach title. Nielsen has coordinator experience with the Saints, Falcons, and Jaguars and most recently served as a senior defensive assistant with the Bills.
Here are a few other coaching updates from around the NFC North:
- Last year, the Lions took play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator John Morton and ended up parting ways with him at the end of the season. Head coach Dan Campbell took over play calling for the remainder of the season, but he doesn’t intend to retain those duties in 2026. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, general manager Brad Holmes told the media that new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will take the reins in calling plays for the offense in Detroit next season. Petzing will be running the show as the Lions look to get back on track after a disappointing 2025 campaign.
- Lastly, in Green Bay, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports that the Packers are expected to hire Sam Siefkes as linebackers coach. After a year at the collegiate level as defensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, Siefkes reunites with new Packers DC Jonathan Gannon. Siefkes previously served as Gannon’s linebackers coach in Arizona, where Gannon was head coach. Siefkes’ addition indicates that former linebackers coach Sean Duggan, who was reportedly expected to follow Jeff Hafley to Miami for a potential shot at a role as defensive coordinator, is officially departed from Green Bay.
Bills, Packers Request QBs Coach Interview with Cardinals’ Connor Senger
The Bills and Packers both requested to interview Cardinals passing game coordinator Connor Senger for their quarterbacks coach vacancies, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Senger, 30, has worked closely with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray over the past four seasons. Senger arrived in Arizona in 2022 as a coaching fellow and moved up in each of the last three offseasons. He became a quality control coach in 2022, the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024, and the pass game coordinator in 2025.
The Cardinals’ air attack has struggled for the most of Senger’s time in Arizona, though Murray has only played in 41 games in that span.
Before joining the Cardinals, Senger spent time with a number of college teams. In 2017, began his coaching career at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a Division III program for whom he started at quarterback for the previous two seasons. He worked for two more D-III schools – Carroll and Wisconsin-Whitewater – before a two-year stint at North Dakota State, which preceded his entrance to the NFL.
The jobs in both Buffalo and Green Bay offer the appeal of working with clear face-of-the-franchise quarterbacks in Josh Allen and Jordan Love. The latter has not reached the same heights as the former, but both are under contract through at least 2028. Success as one of the two’s coach could lead to an offensive coordinator by then, if not sooner. To that point, Senger called plays at the East-West Shrine Bowl this week. While that is certainly not the same to a full-time coordinator gig, it shows that Senger is viewed by some as a potential future OC.
Dolphins To Hire Nathaniel Hackett
Nathaniel Hackett‘s stock took a tumble for a few years, as his disastrous Broncos HC season preceded a Jets OC tenure that brought a demotion. But the second-generation NFL staffer is moving back up the ladder.
After a season back in Green Bay in an analyst role, Hackett will be called upon as a quarterbacks coach. The Dolphins are expected to hire him in this capacity, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets. Hackett worked with new Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley for a season in Green Bay.
Hackett’s arrival may not go over too well in Miami, as few coaches have seen their standing drop more this decade. The former Packers OC was fired 15 games into his Broncos HC tenure, and after landing the Jets’ OC job (due in no small part to the Jets’ interest in bringing Aaron Rodgers to New York), Hackett did not complete that stay as the team’s play-caller. New York demoted Hackett from that role during the 2024 season. Hackett will now work under Dolphins play-caller Bobby Slowik, either coaching Tua Tagovailoa or a to-be-determined QB1 replacement.
The Broncos’ Hackett hire preceded a trade for Russell Wilson. The partnership sputtered, with a host of clunky outings leading to Hackett demoting himself as play-caller. Hackett gave the play sheet to QBs coach Klint Kubiak, but as Wilson exerted tremendous influence in terms of preparation and the nature of the Broncos’ offense, the team fired its coach after 15 games. The Broncos finished last in scoring offense despite authorizing Wilson’s $49MM-per-year extension, but the Jets hired Hackett soon after. Although Hackett delivered on Rodgers becoming receptive to joining the Jets, his stock tanked in the Big Apple.
Hackett’s first season featured mostly Zach Wilson at the controls, and it went bad enough Robert Saleh conducted a stealth search for a veteran staffer who would oversee his OC in 2024. No hire commenced, and Hackett entered the ’24 season as the Jets’ play-caller. Not long after the Jets’ Saleh firing, they removed Hackett from play-calling duties. Wilson is technically still under contract with the Dolphins, but the backup QB’s deal expires in March.
While Hackett was also OC in Buffalo and Jacksonville, his most successful NFL period came as Matt LaFleur‘s non-play-calling OC from 2019-21. The Packers earned three straight playoff byes, and Rodgers won MVP honors in 2020 and ’21. Rodgers has long endorsed Hackett, to the point he is believed to have interceded when Woody Johnson wanted him gone after one Jets OC season. The Dolphins will now entrust Hackett to coach their QBs. Perhaps with no play-calling duties, the Dolphins believe they will see a better version of Hackett than what the Broncos and Jets received.
Miami is also hiring former Green Bay quality control staffer Wendel Davis, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. The team is also adding Jahmile Addae as cornerbacks coach, according to ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel. Addae was most recently the Bills’ CBs coach.
Ladell Betts, Tyke Tolbert Among Those Joining Dolphins’ Staff
A former NFL running back, Ladell Betts made his debut coaching in the league last season. The Giants employed the former Washington cog as its RBs coach in 2025, but he is heading to Florida.
The Dolphins will hire Betts for the same role, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Betts is among Jeff Hafley‘s new hires. Veteran wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert will be Miami’s new wideouts coach, per NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. Zach Yenser is coming over from the Texans to be the Dolphins’ new offensive line coach, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson linked Yenser to Miami previously, and he adds the team is hiring Ryan Downard from the Packers as DBs coach.
Prior to Betts’ New York arrival, he coached RBs at his alma mater — Iowa — for four seasons. Betts, 46, spent the previous seven seasons coaching at the high school level. Betts was Clinton Portis‘ top backup for much of his Washington tenure, which lasted from 2002-09. He finished his career with the Saints in 2010.
Tolbert, 58, has been coaching wideouts in the NFL since 2003. He comes over after a two-year stint as Titans WRs coach. This will be Tolbert’s eighth gig coaching wideouts in the pros. Prior to the Titans, Tolbert coached Cardinals, Bills, Panthers, Broncos, Giants and Bears receivers from 2003-23. He has not previously worked with either Hafley or OC Bobby Slowik. Tolbert earned a Super Bowl ring while in Denver.
Hafley will bring Downard with him from Green Bay. Downard, 37, has ties to both Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan. The Packers had kept Downard on their staff through the Mike Pettine, Joe Barry and Hafley DC tenures. He oversaw Xavier McKinney‘s first-team All-Pro season in Hafley’s debut and helped Evan Williams prosper early as a fourth-round pick. Downard will also serve as Dolphins defensive pass-game coordinator, per ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky.
Yenser worked under Slowik in Houston, and he spent the past two seasons as the Texans’ assistant O-line coach. He had served as Kentucky’s O-line coach under Liam Coen in 2023. This will mark Yenser’s first shot at being an NFL O-line coach. Yenser also worked with Slowik in San Francsico.
Additionally, Wilson notes Sullivan is expected to bring at least one Packers scout with him immediately. The Dolphins are expected to hire Green Bay staffer Venzell Boulware. The former college lineman spent his final collegiate season (2018) at the University of Miami.
Packers To Hire Bobby Babich As Defensive Pass Game Coordinator
After two years as Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, Bobby Babich is leaving for Green Bay. The Packers are hiring Babich as their defensive pass game coordinator/secondary, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
This closes the door on a long run in Buffalo for Babich. After joining the team in 2017, he worked in various roles (including assistant DBs coach, safeties coach and linebackers coach) under Sean McDermott for the head coach’s entire nine-year tenure.
The Bills fired McDermott after the season and promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to replace him on Tuesday. Babich was not among the Bills’ HC candidates.
With Brady expected to pursue Jim Leonhard for defensive coordinator, it quickly became clear Babich would coach somewhere else in 2026. A day later, the 42-year-old will take over for Ryan Downard in Green Bay and assist new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Downard followed former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, now the Dolphins’ head coach, to Miami earlier this month. Babich will also be replacing pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley, who is leaving the organization after losing his 2025 title, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.
Babich, who was among the candidates Hafley beat out to become the Packers’ D-coordinator two years ago, was at the helm of the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense in 2025. The Bills also ended the year a respectable 11th in interceptions.
The Packers, meanwhile, finished 11th in pass defense and a far less impressive 28th in picks this season. They intercepted just seven passes, and Keisean Nixon was the team’s only cornerback to register an INT. Babich, known for emphasizing the importance of takeaways, will work to significantly increase the Packers’ pick total in 2026.
“We talk about it constantly, just about taking the ball away and opportunities to do that,” Babich told BuffaloBills.com last year. “Then we emphasize it in practice. We show the whole defense when we take it away in practice. We’re just constantly talking about it. It’s not just me, it’s the coaching staff and the players.”
Replacing Babich will be one of Brady’s most important tasks at the outset of his head coaching tenure in Buffalo. While the Bills may have interest in Leonhard, he’s the only potential candidate whose name has come up so far.