During the first few weeks of the NFL offseason, Matt LaFleur, the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, has been busy making significant changes to his coaching staff. The Packers coaching staff is now adding one of the top position coaches in sports, following the hiring of a new defensive coordinator.
Following Joe Barry’s dismissal as defensive coordinator, Green Bay looked far and wide for a new defensive play-caller. After Zach Orr declined Green Bay’s offer of a promotion to the Baltimore Ravens and the Panthers thwarted the Packers’ attempt to sign Ejiro Evero, LaFleur went after his next target.
The Packers have reportedly added a linebackers coach who might be a game-changer for Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie to their coaching staff, only days after officially appointing Boston College coach Jeff Hafley as the new defensive coordinator.
Anthony Campanile, the linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins, is moving to Green Bay, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It’s interesting to note that Joe Barry, who is going to Miami to take Campanile’s place, is practically the new coach of the Packers and Dolphins.
On the coaching staff of the Packers, Campanile, 41, will coordinate run games and coach the linebackers. The Rutgers alum spent the last four seasons working in Miami before moving to Green Bay. Before that, he worked under Jim Harbaugh as the linebackers coach for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019 and, before Hafley arrived, was the defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator at Boston College from 2016 to 2017.
It’s interesting to note that the Packers appeared to prevail in a competitive market for Campanile. According to Silverstein, the Philadelphia Eagles were also quite interested in him for the same position. This offseason, he was also considered by the New York Giants as a defensive coordinator.
Campanile has a long history of producing linebackers. A third-round selection in 2018, Jerome Baker proved to be a valuable asset to Miami’s defense in 2022, particularly with his superb coverage play during the previous campaign. One of the NFL’s top run-stuffing linebackers, David Long Jr., is another player that Campanile is credited for getting the most out of last season.
Jason Rebrovich, a former coach of the outside linebackers, is allegedly set to take over as Green Bay’s defensive line coach in 2024 in a parallel shift on the coaching staff.
