GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 The Green Bay Packers are hiring former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich to be their defensive passing-game coordinator and secondary coach.<\/p>\n
The Packers are hiring Bobby Babich as their defensive pass game coordinator\/secondary, per source. <\/p>\n
Babich had been with the Bills since 2017, serving as defensive coordinator the past two seasons. A key hire to new DC Jonathan Gannon\u2019s staff. pic.twitter.com\/S6zSuf3KAY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Coach Matt LaFleur interviewed Babich to be his defensive coordinator in 2024 before picking Jeff Hafley. Babich, meanwhile, was promoted to Buffalo\u2019s defensive coordinator, where he led units that finished seventh in total defense and 12th in points in 2025 and 17th in total defense and 11th in points in 2024.<\/p>\n Now, Babich will coach under the Packers\u2019 new coordinator, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon. As the new coach of the Miami Dolphins, Hafley brought with him Ryan Downard, who joined the Packers in 2018 and had been defensive backs coach the last three seasons.<\/p>\n Derrick Ansley was the Packers\u2019 defensive passing-game coordinator under Hafley the past two seasons. It\u2019s not immediately clear what the addition of Babich means for his future.<\/p>\n On Wednesday night, NFL insider Aaron Wilson had the update. Ansley will not return.<\/p>\n Defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley leaving #Packers<\/a> coaching staff after hire of Bobby Babich to same title, per a league source @KPRC2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Babich\u2019s father, Bob, was the head coach at North Dakota State from 1997 through 2022 before working as an NFL assistant from 2003 through 2021. From 2017 through 2021, they worked together in Buffalo.<\/p>\n \u201cIt cemented what I wanted to do,\u201d Bobby Babich told The Athletic<\/a>. \u201cI was around it and I loved it. I was never pushed to love it. I just kind of fell in love with the game. I knew I wanted to be involved in football at a very young age. I knew I wanted to be involved in this sport in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n Praise From Former Packers<\/p>\n Bobby Babich joined the Bills in 2017 as assistant defensive backs coach. He coached the Bills\u2019 safeties from 2018 through 2021, with the 2021 defense ranking first in the NFL in total defense as safeties Jordan Poyer (first team) and Micah Hyde (second team) earned All-Pro honors. In 2022, he replaced his father as linebackers coach, a role he held for two years before being promoted to coordinator.<\/p>\n \u201cBobby\u2019s a go-getter,\u201d Hyde, who was drafted by the Packers, said after the 2023 season<\/a> via Spectrum News. \u201cHe\u2019s always yelling. High-energy guy and I think people love that. People love that he\u2019s like that and he\u2019s always going to bring the juice. A lot of people joke around and be like that\u2019s fake juice. No, literally, Bobby wakes up every single day and he\u2019s ready to go, and I think he delivers that to his players and his players play that same way.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the energy.<\/p>\n \u201cVery detailed,\u201d Hyde said. \u201cVery detailed each and every day. When the gameplan\u2019s put in place, he knows the defense better than anybody in this building. Once the gameplan\u2019s in, he\u2019s just very detailed in giving it in his delivery. Even in practice and watching film, he\u2019s very detail-oriented in where you should be, where your alignment is, what your assignment is, and from there you\u2019re able to make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n With Buffalo, Babich wore a hat that read in big letters \u201cS.F.P.\u201d<\/p>\n Simple, fast and physical<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t really want to think, for real,\u201d another former Packers defensive back, Rasul Douglas, said. \u201cWe just want to hit everything moving. So, when you put it simple, we all can play faster because we ain’t got to think so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Coaching Philosophy<\/p>\n Babich\u2019s coaching philosophy is a bit Lombardi-esque.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil we\u2019re perfect, we\u2019ll never be where we [want to be] at. That\u2019s the way we view it,\u201d he said during training camp in 2024<\/a>. \u201cUntil we\u2019re absolutely perfect on every rep, which will never happen, we\u2019ll never be where we need to be. So, we\u2019re going to constantly try to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bills finished 18th in opponent passer rating in 2024 and soared to seventh in 2025, when they ranked fourth in opponent completion percentage, first in passing yards allowed and sixth in passing touchdowns allowed while being only 20th in sacks.<\/p>\n Under Babich\u2019s tutelage, cornerback Christian Benford, a former sixth-round pick from Villanova, has become one of NFL\u2019s better players at the position.<\/p>\n Babich called the plays at times and shared those responsibilities with then-coach Sean McDermott at other times.<\/p>\n \u201cBobby\u2019s young in this position,\u201d McDermott said this season. \u201cHe works extremely hard, he\u2019s gifted and play calling is one of the harder things to do in this business.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bills beat the Jaguars in the wild-card round before losing 33-30 in overtime at Denver. Bo Nix was only 26-of-46 passing but threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.<\/p>\n Babich was a cornerback at North Dakota State, where he led the team in interceptions as a senior. He followed his father into coaching, and got his start in the NFL as administrative assistant to the Panthers\u2019 coaching staff in 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first time I experienced him being around me was when I was the head coach at North Dakota State and he would hold my cord during games,\u201d the elder Babich said in 2018<\/a>, their second year together in Buffalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI called an offensive play one time and he looked at me, he was in like seventh or eighth grade, and he looked at me and said, ‘Really? You called that play?’ So, that’s the type of relationship we had. It’s the same way it is right now.\u201d<\/p>\n SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n More Green Bay Packers News