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Packers Interview Al Harris For DC

By | at January 21, 2026 6:53 pm

Looking for a defensive coordinator to replace the departed Jeff Hafley, the Packers could turn to one of their former players. They’ve completed an interview with Bears defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Al Harris, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Harris, a former cornerback, spent a large chunk of his playing career in Green Bay. A Packer from 2003-10, Harris piled up 14 interceptions and earned two Pro Bowl nods in their uniform. He’s now a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.

After wrapping up his career with the Rams in 2011, Harris jumped into coaching as an intern with the Dolphins.

Since he got his feet wet for a year in Miami, Harris has coached defensive backs with the Chiefs, Cowboys and Bears. Harris doesn’t have any experience as a coordinator, but he has learned from the likes of Steve Spagnuolo, Mike Zimmer, Dan Quinn and Dennis Allen.

In 2025, his first season in Chicago, Harris helped guide a turnover-happy defense that led the league with 23 interceptions. The Bears pulled that off despite going without two high-end corners, the injured duo of Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, for significant periods. Johnson missed 10 games, and Gordon sat out 14. The Bears nonetheless finished 11-6 and won the NFC North before knocking the archrival Packers out of the wild-card round with a 31-27 comeback victory.

After dropping a nail-biter to the Rams in the divisional round, the Bears could lose Harris to the Packers. The 51-year-old joins former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones and Eagles DBs coach Christian Parker as early candidates to succeed Hafley. After two years running the Packers’ defense, Hafley left to become the Dolphins’ head coach on Monday.

In Hafley’s last year in Green Bay, the team ranked a solid 11th in points allowed and 12th in yards. The Packers’ defense likely would have enjoyed more success had the unit’s best player, superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons, not gone down with a torn ACL in Week 15. The rehab process is expected to sideline Parsons for the start of 2026, but he’s optimistic he’ll return by Week 4.

 

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Packers Cut CB Trevon Diggs

By | at January 21, 2026 3:25 pm

JANUARY 21: As expected, Diggs has cleared waivers, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. He’s now a free agent.

JANUARY 20: Trevon Diggs exited the season still attached to his five-year, $97MM Cowboys-designed extension. But it was unrealistic for the veteran cornerback to expect that to continue much longer, given his play on the deal.

The Packers are indeed moving on. They are cutting Diggs, per a team announcement. This confirms the veteran cornerback’s status as a late-season rental. He will not be eligible to join one of the four remaining teams’ rosters before season’s end.

The six-year veteran will end up in free agency, being given a chance to catch on before unrestricted FAs hit the market on March 9. Technically, Diggs is subject to waivers, but it is extraordinarily unlikely a claim comes in to keep him on this contract after the playoffs conclude.

This will not tag the Packers with any dead money and free up $15MM in cap space for the team ahead of the 2026 offseason. Diggs, 27, was not expected to remain attached to his Dallas terms for much longer. The Cowboys waived him after Week 17, leading to a Packers claim. Although the Packers deployed Diggs as a backup, most of his work came in a meaningless Week 18 game in Minnesota. Diggs played just one defensive snap in the Packers’ wild-card loss to the Bears.

It should not be ruled out Diggs comes back at a far lower rate, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. Packers defensive pass-game coordinator Derrick Ansley coached Diggs at Alabama. Though, Green Bay is set for some defensive staff changes after Jeff Hafley‘s departure for Miami. It is unclear who will be part of the team’s 2026 defensive staff; some degree of turnover will be expected.

Diggs’ 11-interception 2021 season placed him on the radar for a big-ticket extension, and the Cowboys followed through with that move in summer 2023. But an ACL tear in September of that year sidetracked the former second-round pick. Diggs has battled knee trouble since, and a dustup with the Cowboys regarding Christmas Day travel plans preceded his early exit. Had the Cowboys not waived him before Week 18, they would have done so after the season.

Playing in just nine games this season, Diggs ended up missing 29 games since he signed the lucrative second contract. He made it back from another knee surgery by Week 1, but a concussion sustained in his home parked him on IR. A disagreement about the corner’s health between player and team also factored into a turbulent final Diggs Dallas season. As a result of the poor return on investment, Diggs will not be a candidate to sign for anything close to his most recent Cowboys terms.

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Packers To Interview Jonathan Gannon For DC Job

By | at January 20, 2026 7:07 pm

After being fired as Cardinals head coach earlier this month, Jonathan Gannon continues to generate interest for defensive coordinator openings. The latest team to schedule an interview is the Packers, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

[RELATED: Cowboys Scheduling Second Interviews With DC Candidates]

Gannon spent years coaching defensive backs in Minnesota and Indianapolis before being hired as the Eagles defensive coordinator in 2021. Following an inconsistent first season at the helm, Philly’s defense took it to another level in 2022, finishing second in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed. That performance ended up earning him the Cardinals head coaching gig (although not without a bit of controversy).

The coach’s stint in Arizona proved to be forgettable, as he never guided the Cardinals to a winning record during his three seasons with the organization. His best showing was in 2024, when the team finished 8-9. However, they took a major step back in 2025, finishing with a 3-14 record. Gannon also struggled to get the most out of his defense during his time in Arizona; the Cardinals never finished better than 15th in points allowed and 21st in yards allowed.

Still, Gannon clearly has a reputation as a respected defensive mind. He’s garnered a second interview for the Cowboys defensive coordinator job, and he was a candidate for the Commanders gig. Gannon also interviewed for the Titans head coaching vacancy before the team opted for Robert Saleh.

Now, he’s drawing interest from Green Bay to replace Jeff Hafley, who recently took the head coaching job in Miami. As Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes, Matt LaFleur praised Gannon earlier this year, describing him as a “really good coach” and saying that he did a “hell of a job” in Arizona. Gannon is joining a group of candidates that currently features Vikings DBs coach Daronte Jones and Eagles DBs coach Christian Parker.

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NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/20/26

By | at January 20, 2026 6:35 pm

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • DB Doneiko Slaughter, OL Lorenzo Thompson

San Francisco 49ers

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Packers Request DC Interview With Daronte Jones

By | at January 20, 2026 9:00 am

As expected, Jeff Hafley is the new head coach of the Dolphins. His departure leaves the Packers in need of a replacement defensive coordinator.

Green Bay is interested in one of the most popular candidates of this year’s cycle. An interview request has been submitted for Vikings defensive pass-game coordinator Daronte Jones, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This marks the fourth DC vacancy Jones has been connected to.

The Giants were among the teams to submit an interview request in his case. Jones has also met once with the Jets for their opening. The Cowboys have reached out to a long list of candidates in their ongoing search, and Jones is among those who have conducted a second interview with Dallas.

Jones has NFL experience dating back to 2016. His first Vikings stint took place in 2020, and it was followed by a one-and-done stint as LSU’s defensive coordinator. The 47-year-old then returned to Minnesota in 2022, one year before Brian Flores arrived as the team’s DC. Flores and Jones have each boosted their stock over the past three years. Flores remains a head coaching candidate at this time, although the Vikings have made clear their desire for retaining him.

In the event Flores were to depart, Jones would be a candidate to follow him to his new destination. Alternatively, a Vikings promotion could become something to watch for. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if Jones emerges as a target for Dallas in particular given the fact he has conducted an in-person interview. Competition from the Packers could emerge, if a Green Bay interview winds up being arranged.

Hafley enjoyed strong results during the first of his two Packers seasons in particular. The team was hit hard by injuries down the stretch in 2025, and in addition to better health next year Green Bay will hope the new D-coordinator maintains the level of play Hafley oversaw. Jones joins Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker as a Packers target for their coordinator opening.

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2026 NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

By | at January 20, 2026 9:00 am

The 2026 head coaching carousel has now seen 10 jobs open since the start of the offseason, as the Bills have fired Sean McDermott. HC firings generally lead to coordinator changes, and several other teams have proceeded with OC or DC moves to start their offseasons. Here are the current OC and DC searches transpiring. As the remaining HC searches conclude, more coordinator searches will be added to this list.

Updated 1-22-26 (9:10am CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens 

Detroit Lions (Out: John Morton)

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Matt Nagy)

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Greg Roman)

New York Giants (Out: Mike Kafka)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Kevin Patullo)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Josh Grizzard)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Nick Holz)

Washington Commanders (Out: Kliff Kingsbury)

Defensive Coordinators

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Matt Eberflus)

Green Bay Packers (Out: Jeff Hafley)

New York Giants (Out: Shane Bowen)

New York Jets (Out: Steve Wilks)

  • Mathieu Araujo, cornerbacks coach (Dolphins): Interviewed
  • Ephraim Banda, safeties coach (Browns): Interviewed
  • DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Packers): Interviewed
  • Chris Harris, interim defensive coordinator (Jets): Interviewed 1/18
  • Daronte Jones, defensive backs coach (Vikings): Interviewed
  • Jim Leonhard, defensive backs coach (Broncos): Interviewed
  • Don Martindale, defensive coordinator (Michigan): Interviewed
  • Jim O’Neil, defensive assistant/safeties (Lions): Interviewed

Washington Commanders (Out: Joe Whitt)

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Dolphins Hire Jeff Hafley As Head Coach

By | at January 19, 2026 11:10 pm

11:10pm: The Dolphins have signed Hafley to a five-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has since announced the hire.

“Jeff is a man of integrity, intellect and great passion who players will buy into and play for,” Sullivan said. “He has a vision for the kind of team we will be and the ability to motivate them to move in one direction on the path towards that goal. I’m thrilled to go on this journey with him and together we will build a winner that this organization deserves.”

4:05pm: The Dolphins are close to naming a new head coach. They’re nearing an agreement with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Since their search for Mike McDaniel‘s replacement began over a week ago, the Dolphins interviewed 10 head coaching candidates. Hafley became the first member of the group to set up a second interview, and he emerged as a frontrunner for the job on Saturday. Two days later, Hafley is in position to secure his first NFL head coaching gig.

Hafley, who drew widespread interest across the league during this hiring cycle, had scheduled second meetings with the Raiders and Titans. The Cardinals also wanted to interview him again, per Albert Breer of SI.com.

The 46-year-old Hafley will instead head to Miami, where he has a key connection in rookie general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. Hafley spent the past two seasons in Green Bay, where he worked with Sullivan. The Dolphins are the second NFL organization for Sullivan, who was a Packers employee from 2004-25.

Sullivan was a firsthand witness to Hafley’s impressive work with the Packers, who boasted quality defenses in both seasons under his leadership. The Packers ranked top 10 in points (sixth) and yards (fifth) in 2024. The unit was less successful this season (11th scoring and 12th in total defense), but losing Micah Parsons to a season-ending ACL tear in mid-December proved too much to overcome.

The Packers fizzled out after a 9-3-1 start in losing four straight games to end the regular season. The club then blew a 21-3 halftime lead to the Bears during a 31-27 loss in the wild-card round. Head coach Matt LaFleur will now work to find a replacement for Hafley.

A former Siena wide receiver, Hafley began his coaching career with Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2001. He served as a running backs coach that year, his lone season on the offensive side. Hafley was a college assistant on defensive staffs at Albany, Pittsburgh and Rutgers before jumping to the pros in 2012. He worked with defensive backs for the Buccaneers, Browns and 49ers through 2018, though Hafley went back to college as Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator and DBs coach the next season.

After a one-year stint with the Buckeyes, Hafley became a head coach for the first time at Boston College. The Eagles went 22-26 and played in two bowl games under Hafley from 2020-23. He then left for the Packers.

In exiting Green Bay for Miami, Hafley will become the Dolphins’ eighth straight first-time NFL head coach. They haven’t selected an experienced HC since Dave Wannstedt landed the role in 2000. The Dolphins’ most recent playoff win came during Wannstedt’s first season at the helm. They’ve gone to the postseason just five times since then, including twice during the McDaniel era.

Although McDaniel guided the Dolphins to playoff berths in each of his first two seasons at the controls, the team sputtered to a 15-19 mark from 2024-25. Owner Stephen Ross made a change after a 7-10 campaign in which McDaniel benched high-priced quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with three weeks left in the season. Seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers finished the year as Miami’s starting QB.

Picking Miami’s next head coach was the first major responsibility for Sullivan, who will cross off that task when Hafley’s agreement becomes official. Once Hafley assembles a staff, the Dolphins’ full attention will turn to their roster.

Whether to go forward with Tagovailoa will rank among the most important offseason decisions for the Dolphins’ new regime. Tagovailoa is open to a fresh start, which he could get under Hafley. Otherwise, cutting Tagovailoa would leave the Dolphins with a $99.2MM dead cap charge. That would likely make it more difficult for Hafley to lead a quick turnaround, but the Dolphins are confident they’ll right the ship under him.

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Packers To Interview Christian Parker For DC Job

By | at January 19, 2026 7:06 pm

With Jeff Hafley heading to Miami, the Packers are now in need of a new defensive coordinator. We’ve now got our first candidate for the opening. According to Jordan Schultz, the Packers will interview Eagles DBs coach and pass-game coordinator Christian Parker for the job.

[RELATED: Dolphins Hire Jeff Hafley As Head Coach]

This would be a bit of a homecoming for Parker, who started his NFL coaching career in Green Bay. Following a two-year stint as a Packers defensive quality control coach, Parker moved to the Eagles to serve as their defensive backs coach in 2021. He spent three years in that role before earning the added responsibility of passing game coordinator in 2024.

Most recently, Parker has been credited with the development of cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. Both of the 2024 draft picks have emerged as key starters in Philly, and the duo both earned spots in the top-10 of Pro Football Focus’ positional rankings this season. Parker was also part of Vic Fangio‘s defensive staff that ranked No. 1 against the pass during their Super Bowl-winning 2024 campaign. While the defense took a slight step back in 2025 (finishing eighth overall), that didn’t do much to hurt Parker’s coordinator candidacy.

The 34-year-old has emerged as a name to watch during each of the past two hiring cycles. He interviewed for the Saints gig last offseason, and he’s expected to garner a second interview with the Cowboys this year.

If he ends up earning the Packers job, he’ll be tasked with turning around a defense that slightly disappointed this past year. The Packers ranked top 10 in points (sixth) and yards (fifth) in 2024, but the unit was less successful in 2025 (11th scoring and 12th in total defense). Part of that was due to Micah Parsons‘ season-ending injury, and Hafley’s popularity in this year’s coaching carousel proved that Green Bay’s defensive approach was still highly regarded.

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Raiders To Conduct Second HC Interviews With Jesse Minter, Jeff Hafley

By | at January 19, 2026 11:36 am

The coming days will be critical in shaping the Raiders‘ head coaching search. The list of candidates to line up a second interview with the team has grown.

Mike McDaniel is set to conduct an in-person interview with Vegas today. The same will be true tomorrow for Ejiro Evero. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, both Jesse Minter and Jeff Hafley have arranged a Raiders follow-up. Minter’s interview will take place tomorrow, while Hafley’s is set for Wednesday.

Throughout the hiring cycle, both defensive coordinators have loomed as strong HC candidates. Minter has been with the Chargers for the past two years, while Hafley has led the Packers’ defense for the same duration. Their respective stocks have risen over that span.

Minter had experience as a defensive coordinator at three different college programs before he followed Jim Harbaugh from Michigan to Los Angeles. His success at the NFL level produced an interview request from each of the first nine teams around the NFL to have a HC opening. Minter, 42, is set to line up a second interview with the Browns and further interest could be coming soon.

Prior to his Packers stint, Hafley spent four years as the head coach at Boston College. He has worked as a position coach and D-coordinator at both the college and NFL levels, so taking charge of a team in the pros would represent a logical next step. The 46-year-old led Green Bay to a strong finish in total and scoring defense in 2024, and his unit enjoyed a productive start to the 2025 campaign before it was hit hard by injuries. In recent days, Hafley has been mentioned as a potential frontrunner for the Dolphins’ vacancy.

Questions have been raised about how attractive the Raiders’ opening is compared to others around the league. Indeed, it was learned over the weekend that Kevin Stefanski withdrew from Vegas’ search not long after conducting an initial interview with the team. Buffalo’s decision to fire Sean McDermott means there are eight vacancies at the moment. It will be interesting to see if the Raiders manage to land one of the top candidates still on the market.

Via PFR’s HC Search Tracker, here is an updated look at where things stand for Vegas:

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Jeff Hafley Emerging As Dolphins’ HC Frontrunner

By | at January 18, 2026 11:14 pm

JANUARY 18: Jackson adds in a follow-up report that it is a real possibility Miami does not allow Hafley to leave the building without a contract in hand following his Monday interview. An agent for another candidate tells Jackson that Hafley is the team’s top choice.

In addition to Graham and Hafley, the ‘Fins will have an in-person meeting with Kelvin Sheppard on Monday. The Graham and Sheppard summmits would satisfy the Rooney Rule and thereby make the Dolphins eligible to hire Hafley.

JANUARY 17, 10:05pm: A representative for one of the other candidates connected to the Dolphins’ vacancy told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald he believes the job is Hafley’s to lose at this point. With at least many of the seven remaining HC vacancies likely to be filled in the coming days, this situation will be worth watching closely.

2:08pm: Coming quick off the heels of news that he is being brought in for the second round of the Dolphins‘ interview process, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports that Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has “emerged as a frontrunner” for the head coaching job in Miami. No decisions have been made on either side, but Hafley seems to have the early favor of the Dolphins’ search committee.

Miami and Hafley are still moving forward with their interview processes, as usual, though. This isn’t John Harbaugh cancelling meetings after one in-person interview with the Giants just yet.

The Dolphins have first-round interviews still on the schedule for this weekend and are in the process of setting up more second-round interviews beyond Hafley. It seems, as they’re wrapping up the first round of interviews with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Sunday and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham on Monday, Hafley will be kicking off the first of multiple in-person, second interviews. Dianna Russini of The Athletic has noted that they’re attempting to get former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski in for his in-person on Wednesday.

We also aren’t aware if the feelings are mutual for Hafley, though; Miami isn’t the only team to have moved him on to the next stage of the interview process, and according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Hafley is expected to be a finalist everywhere he’s interviewed. Pelissero notes that the Titans, Falcons, Raiders, and Cardinals have also requested second interviews for Hafley, and he’s in the process of completing another initial interview today with the Steelers.

In fact, Hafley is scheduled to come to Miami on Monday, and he already has his visit to Tennessee scheduled for the Tuesday, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. The Dolphins are certainly trying to get out ahead of what appears to be a lot of interest in Hafley by scheduling him early and pronouncing their interest very publicly. We’ll see if that tactic earns them any points with Hafley or if it turns on the pressure in his pursuit.

For the other candidates set to interview with Miami, it’s certainly discouraging, assuming Hafley prefers the Dolphins. It’s hard enough to overcome Hafley’s Green Bay ties to Miami’s new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan but adding in his proclamation from the media as an early frontrunner makes it necessary to hope Hafley prefers to be elsewhere. In fact, strangely, the rumor of Hafley being the frontrunner first was leaked by Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, whose source was an agent of one of the several other candidates for the job. After seeing the rumor confirmed by Pelissero this afternoon, seekers of the Miami job will be hoping the Dolphins don’t get their guy.

The only certainty anywhere comes out of Green Bay where Mike Garafolo reports the Packers have begun researching defensive coordinator candidates. While it’s still extremely up in the air where Hafley lands, it’s quite certain that he won’t be coming back to Green Bay. As Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post points out, Broncos defensive pass game coordinator/assistant head coach Jim Leonhard once turned down the Packers’ defensive coordinator position under Matt LaFleur thinking he’d be at Wisconsin long-term. Having since moved on from the Badgers, one would think Leonhard’s name would come up in Green Bay relatively soon.

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