Chris from West Allis, WI

A lot has been mentioned about how changes in college football have affected the players entering the NFL (e.g. more polished receivers). Is there something to be said about college coaches, too? I remember Chip Kelly being a big surprise to many, but now it seems college coaches coming to the NFL is fairly typical.

Hafley was part of that wave. The NIL system has shifted the landscape, especially for a school like Boston College that has already struggled to compete in the ACC. The job was difficult enough when you had to recruit players and develop them. Now, you have to recruit them again once they do develop. If the NFL door is open, more guys are taking it.

Michael from Saint Louis, MO

I get what you mean about the pressure to win driving reactionary decisions, and I agree that being principled and consistent matters. But stability only works as a foundation if it’s supporting measurable progress, but the Packers process has gotten them the seventh seed three years in a row (and four years ago they didn’t make the playoffs). Aside from Jordan Love‘s first year starting, it is hard to see the other years as progress. It has been frustrating. How do you distinguish stability from stagnation?

By the fact Micah Parsons, Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs all wanted to come here. Because in Green Bay, players can be rewarded for their play while also chasing championship glory. I don’t like using the word, “Spoiled,” but man…We spent the last few questions talking about the Fins hiring Sullivan and Hafley. Do you know the last time Miami won a playoff game? 2000. That’s 25 years and counting. That’s stagnation, Michael.

Good morning, Wes. After watching their introductory press conference in Miami, it sure feels like the Packers have lost two passionate, articulate, intelligent and valuable employees. Aren’t Sully and Haf going to be profoundly difficult for the front office to replace? Thanks.

They won’t be easy to replace, but the beautiful thing is their departures will create opportunities for other hungry scouts and coaches. Looking specifically at the Packers’ front office, Brian Gutekunst, Eliot Wolf and Sullivan all got their big breaks after Reggie McKenzie, John Dorsey and John Schneider graduated into NFL GM jobs.

I want Al Harris. He was one of my favorite defensive guys back in the day, and he was the first player that ever got my dad to get into Packers football with me. I’ve never liked that he was in Chicago. Time to get that guy back home! Yes, I am aware I have no say and no one cares. But isn’t that what the offseason is for?

The former Packers cornerback is a strong candidate who’s built an impressive resume since joining Andy Reid’s first Kansas City coaching staff in 2013. While climbing the coaching ranks over the past decade, Harris has overseen talented secondaries in both Dallas and Chicago that were prodigious at taking the ball away. The NFL has noticed and this could be the year Harris takes that step to becoming a defensive coordinator whether it’s here or elsewhere.

After Devonte Wyatt got hurt, the interior run defense weakened, and the edge rushers appeared to crash inside more to compensate. That put added strain on the linebackers, forced them to chase laterally, and opened up the middle of the field in the passing game. Micah Parsons could still adjust with his speed, but once he went down the pass rush stalled. As the season progressed and teams caught on to these tendencies, do you think this became more of a scheme issue, or players not executing?

I think it had more to do with the Packers losing two of their best players, one of whom is a finalist for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. To its credit, Green Bay’s defense kept fighting but you can only scheme so much. At a certain point, the ship just takes on too much water, and I feel like that’s what happened in the fourth quarter in Chicago.