The Green Bay Packers coaching staff has been its own carousel among this year’s hiring cycle. Jeff Hafley’s departure to become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins was a seismic event that left Matt LaFleur scrambling to fill the team's vacant defensive coordinator role. Now, more moves could be on the way as Hafley tries to bring some coaches to his new job.
One of the first coaches to depart for Miami came on Monday evening when Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that defensive backs coach Ryan Downard and linebackers coach Sean Duggan have agreed to join Hafley’s staff. Both coaches played a key role in the Packers’ success last season, but in Duggan's case, it could be addition by subtraction and a small step in the right direction as the Packers look to get over the hump in 2026.
Packers Should Celebrate Duggan’s Departure After Two Poor Seasons
Duggan arrived in Green Bay as a defensive assistant when Hafley became defensive coordinator in 2024. The two had a previous history dating back to when Duggan was a graduate assistant, and Hafley was the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2019. Duggan’s specialty was at linebacker, dating back to his time at Hawaii in 2016, and he served as the linebackers coach in all four of Hafley’s years as head coach at Boston College, leaving plenty to assume he’d bring some of that knowledge to the NFL.
Like many coaches, Duggan attempted to put his stamp on the room by drafting Edgerrin Cooper in the second round and Ty’Ron Hopper in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. While Cooper had a strong rookie season with 87 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, one interception, and 3.5 sacks, he took a step back after Duggan was promoted to linebackers coach, making 118 total tackles but just 4.0 tackles for loss, zero interceptions, and 0.5 sacks.
Cooper’s development looked like a major win when compared to Hopper's. In his first two seasons in the league, Hopper has played in all 34 games. But he hasn’t been able to get consistent defensive snaps, recording just 33 total tackles and one tackle for loss in those games.
Set to turn 25 years old in April, Hopper could still turn it around. But the reason Duggan won’t be missed is that he wasn’t effective with what he inherited on the Packers’ roster.
Quay Walker was an average player during his first two seasons in the league, but he had his best year in coverage as a rookie in 2022, allowing 31 catches for 304 yards and a touchdown with five pass breakups on 46 targets. While his production slipped a bit in his sophomore season with 55 catches for 571 yards and two touchdowns, one interception, and three pass breakups, he’s hit a new low in the two years under Duggan.
In 2024, Walker was passable, allowing 41 catches for 373 yards with two pass breakups on 52 targets in coverage. But in 2025, the wheels completely came off with 67 receptions for 653 yards and six touchdowns with six pass breakups. Only Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed more touchdowns in coverage this season (8) than Walker, and teams sought him out as Walker's 84 targets in coverage were the fourth-most in the NFL.
Isaiah McDuffie saw a similar trajectory under Duggan. While he’s made over 90 total tackles in each of the past two seasons, he had a greater impact in 2023 when his five tackles for loss were almost as many as he'd recorded (6) in the past two years combined. McDuffie had a similar trainwreck year in coverage in 2024, allowing five touchdown passes on 56 targets.
With the veterans taking a step back and the young players failing to develop, it could be one of those situations where LaFleur thought about a change but was waiting to see if another opportunity would open up. While it is unclear what role Duggan will have in Miami, it’s likely to be a linebacker role, which Packers fans will gladly pawn off to another team.
Long story short, not every coaching departure is viewed as a major loss, and Duggan’s may be something that helps Green Bay in the long run.