With former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley off coaching the Miami Dolphins, the biggest move that the Green Bay Packers will make this offseason will probably be who they replace Hafley with. In talking
to those in the know in the coaching and coaching representation space, two names have come up consistently (throughout the year), mostly because of convenience: defensive line coach/run game coordinator Demarcus Covington and pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley, two internal candidates who came to Green Bay after previous stints as defensive coordinators in the NFL.
Along with Hafley, both Covington and Ansley each have six years of non-Packers experience as on-field coaches in the NFL, the most on the staff outside of head coach Matt LaFleur and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. Covington has received some defensive coordinator interest from other clubs in 2026, but the same hasn’t been said of Ansley, at least yet.
For what it’s worth, the same people who believe that Covington and Ansley could be defensive coordinator candidates in Green Bay also believe that Hafley could bring one with him at his next gig, too. Another name to know, from the Hafley end, is Jacksonville Jaguars’ linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, who was Hafley’s defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022. Sean Duggan, the Packers’ current linebackers coach, was a linebackers coach under Lukabu and was one of two co-defensive coordinators who were promoted once Lukabu left for the NFL.
At this point, it’s unclear whether Hafley, who coached in the booth on gamedays for Green Bay, will be a sideline play-caller for the Dolphins or if he will simply be a “CEO” style head coach. Now that the Hafley talk is over, let’s steer it back to the Packers.
Other teams are going to be in the defensive coordinator market, but the teams that are hitting it the most aggressively, in terms of interviews, right now are the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets. The Washington Commanders are also poking around, but their search is going much more slowly than the Cowboys and Jets, at least on Monday, January 19th.
Other candidates might become available down the line (teams can block lateral moves if coaches are under contract), but at least one, the Atlanta Falcons’ Jeff Ulbrich, has been taken off the board. Ulbrich will be staying with the Falcons under new head coach Kevin Stefanski. He had an interview for the Dallas Cowboys’ opening blocked by the Falcons.
A name brought up a lot by Packers fans is Raheem Morris, because of his close ties with LaFleur, but there’s some thought that he might just pivot to television (he has fans in the media) or could take a year off. Remember, when coaches are fired, their remaining salaries are still guaranteed. Morris might not be in a hurry to take a job, and he hasn’t scheduled an interview for defensive coordinator yet.
Other candidates who might become available include Miami’s Anthony Weaver, Baltimore’s Zach Orr, Cleveland’s Jim Schwartz, Tennessee’s Dennard Wilson and Las Vegas’ Patrick Graham, sitting defensive coordinators who are receiving head coaching interviews right now, but whose head coaches were fired.
With all that being said, here’s a list of every coach who, so far, has at least scheduled an NFL defensive coordinator interview this cycle. We’ll also note which team(s) they interviewed with and if they have prior ties to the Packers.
Aaron Whitecotton, Dallas Cowboys, defensive line coach
- Dallas Cowboys
Whitecotton actually interviewed for the Packers for their defensive line vacancy last offseason, a job that ultimately went to Covington.
Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings, defensive coordinator
- Dallas Cowboys
- Washington Commanders
Flores has no ties to Green Bay as a defensive coordinator candidate, but he was interviewed for the 2019 head coaching opening that led to the hiring of LaFleur.
Charlie Bullen, New York Giants, interim defensive coordinator
- Dallas Cowboys
Chris Harris, New York Jets, interim defensive coordinator
- New York Jets
Harris interviewed for the Packers’ defensive coordinator opening in 2021, following the firing of Mike Pettine. The job went to Joe Barry.
Christian Parker, Philadelphia Eagles, pass game coordinator
- Dallas Cowboys
Parker got his start in the NFL during LaFleur’s initial coaching staff. He was a quality control coach for the Packers from 2019 to 2020 before being hired as a defensive backs coach by the Broncos in 2021. He held that position until he joined the Eagles as their passing game coordinator in 2024. In 2024, Parker was also interviewed for the Packers’ defensive coordinator opening.
Daronte Jones, Minnesota Vikings, pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Jets
Demarcus Covington, Green Bay Packers, run game coordinator/defensive line coach
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Jets
Scroll up if you missed our Covington discussion at the start of this article.
Dennard Wilson, Tennessee Titans, defensive coordinator
- Washington Commanders
Wilson was interviewed for the 2024 defensive coordinator opening that went to Hafley.
Ephraim Banda, Cleveland Browns, safeties coach
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Jets
Jim Leonhard, Denver Broncos, assistant head coach/pass game coordinator
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Jets
Rumors at the time claimed that Leonhard was LaFleur’s first choice to replace Pettine, until Leonhard elected to remain the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin. Leonhard finally made the jump to the NFL in 2024 under Sean Payton, for whom he has a previous relationship dating back to the safety’s playing days.
Jim O’Neil, Detroit Lions, defensive assistant
- New York Jets
Joe Cullen, Kansas City Chiefs, defensive line coach
- Washington Commanders
Jonathan Gannon, former Arizona Cardinals head coach
- Dallas Cowboys
- Washington Commanders
Karl Scott, Seattle Seahawks, defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator
- Washington Commanders
Matthew Araujo, Miami Dolphins, cornerbacks coach
- New York Jets
Patrick Graham, Las Vegas Raiders, defensive coordinator
- Washington Commanders
Wink Martindale, former Michigan defensive coordinator
- New York Jets
Zach Orr, Baltimore Ravens, defensive coordinator
- Dallas Cowboys
Orr was another candidate who interviewed with the Packers in 2024 for the job that went to Hafley.
