What inspired a handful of New England Patriots coaches to visit Boston College’s football facility on Tuesday? And what did they do while they were there?
BC head coach Jeff Hafley answered those questions after his team’s second spring practice.
Hafley explained that he has a connection to Patriots outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick dating back to their time together at Rutgers in 2011, when Belichick was a long snapper and Hafley coached defensive backs.
“Stephen and I had a relationship the one year I spent at Rutgers,” Hafley told reporters, via Kevin Stone of the New England Football Journal. “Stephen was a player, and he was in my office all the time talking football. Stephen and I kept in touch throughout my time in the NFL. Whether it was questions about what we were doing on defense, teams that we played, teams he played … we spoke.
“Then, they wanted to come by and bring some of the defensive guys and talk some defensive football, sit in on some meetings, watch some tape with us. And I mean, shoot, that’s a blessing for us, right?”
The majority of New England’s defensive assistants made the short trip to BC’s Chestnut Hill, Mass., campus, with inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, safeties coach Brian Belichick and defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington joining Steve Belichick. It’s likely at least some of those coaches will be in Indianapolis later this week when defensive prospects begin testing and meeting with teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Hafley is a defensive-minded coach with NFL experience, having coached DBs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers before taking over the Eagles’ program in 2020. He said he was “grateful” for the Patriots’ visit and plans to attend a New England practice this spring.
“Now that COVID is hopefully going away, (Steve Belichick) said come out any time, and I’ll definitely do that when they have OTAs,” said Hafley, who went 6-5 and 6-6 in his first two seasons at BC. “You want to talk about a resource, that’s incredible. We’re just grateful they’re here.
“It just shows you, right, one of the greatest teams and greatest staffs in all of football, and those guys constantly want to learn and observe. I think it sends a great message to not only myself and the team, but the coaching staff. I appreciate them coming here. I think it’s awesome, and I’m grateful for it.”
