New Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has begun assembling his coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball.
The first reported addition will be Vince Oghobaase, who will take over as the defensive line coach, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Update from Silverstein: Oghobaase will be the assistant defensive line coach under Jason Rebrovich.
This position was previously held by Jerry Montgomery, who was also the run game coordinator in 2023. Montgomery had been in Green Bay since 2015, making him the longest-tenured coach on the Packers through last season. Montgomery has now reportedly joined the New England coaching staff to coach the interior defensive line.
Oghobaase has been the defensive line coach at Boston College since 2020, the same year Hafley took over as the head coach. Prior to that, Oghobaase was the defensive line coach at UCLA from 2018 through 2019 and the assistant defensive line coach with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 and 2017–spending time with Hafley there as well.
“I had the opportunity to work with Vince in San Francisco and his knowledge of the game, energy and commitment to the players jumped out to me,” said Hafley when Oghobaase joined his staff in 2020. “At Ohio State, he trained under one of the best defensive line coaches in all of football in Larry Johnson and he gained excellent experience the last two seasons at the defensive line coach at UCLA.”
Under Oghobaase, defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was a second-team All-ACC member in 2022, with defensive tackle Chibueze Onwuka earning Honorable Mention honors that same season. In 2021, Marcus Valdez was also an All-ACC Honorable Mention.
Oghobaase played in 44 collegiate games as a defensive lineman at Duke, tallying 14.0 sacks and 36.5 tackles for loss.
It is unknown at this time what exactly the Packers’ defense will look like under Hafley, but Boston College did utilize a 4-3 scheme while he was the head coach.
Kenny Clark, who had a career year in both sacks and quarterback hits in 2023, provided stability to what was a relatively young position group this past season.
The Packers relied heavily on rookies Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, with Devonte Wyatt in only his second season after playing just over 20 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie. Even for TJ Slaton, who was in his third season, was in his first as a starter.
As is the case when relying somewhat heavily on inexperience, there were ups and downs. The Packers’ defense allowed a league-high four separate 200-plus rushing yard games to opponents. In those games, missed tackles, poor gap integrity, and an inability to get off blocks contributed to those issues.
However, by the end of the season, this group was playing its best football. Since Week 15 through the playoffs, opponents averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per carry, and oftentimes, the pressure generated on the quarterback started with a strong push up the middle that became much more consistent in the final games.
Along with the reported addition of Oghobaase, it’s also been reported that pass rush coordinator Jason Rebrovich and defensive backs coach Ryan Downard will be returning.
Linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti and pass game coordinator Greg Williams will not be back. These are two openings on the coaching staff that now have to be filled.
