Patriots Rival Reportedly Loses Defensive Coordinator, Longtime Coach To Packers

The New England Patriots are gearing up for the Super Bowl, but two of their division rivals are in the middle of coaching changes.

The Miami Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel to hire Jeff Hafley, the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator for the last two years. The Buffalo Bills promoted Joe Brady to head coach from offensive coordinator. As Brady puts together his staff, he is losing defensive coordinator Bobby Babich to the Packers, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

The Packers’ losing Hafley to the Dolphins led to their hiring former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon as the new defensive coordinator. Gannon is bringing Babich in as a defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach.

Denver Broncos defensive pass coordinator Jim Leonhard is reportedly the favorite to be the Bills’ new defensive coordinator, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Broncos’ defense was very good this season, as the Patriots saw firsthand last Sunday, and Leonhard replacing Babich could be trouble for the Patriots.

The Patriots played well against Babich’s defenses last season. In two games against the Bills, the Patriots had 723 total yards and scored 54 points. In 2024, the Patriots posted 688 total yards in two matchups and scored 44 points.

The Patriots were pretty successful against Babich as the defensive coordinator, and facing Leonhard will be a new challenge.

Losing Babich is still a blow for the Bills. He had been with the team since 2017, and has served as a safeties coach and a linebackers coach as well in his tenure. Now he will join the Packers staff under their new defensive coordinator.