The Green Bay Packers lost one of their most — if not the most — important assistant coaches. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left to take the reins of the Miami Dolphins, and they now have a massive void to fill in their coaching staff as the offseason prepares to shift into full gear.
The Packers reportedly considered making a run at Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. But now that he's signed a contract extension with them, he's officially off the table.
"Source: Vikings’ defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones is scheduled to interview today with both the Packers and the Giants for their open defensive coordinator jobs. Jones remains a DC candidate with the Cowboys and Jets as well," Graziano reported.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that the Packers can't get some of Flores' magic in Wisconsin. According to NFL insider Dan Graziano ofESPN, Green Bay will meet with Daronte Jones, one of Flores' primary assistants in Minnesota.
Daronte Jones Is the Perfect Brian Flores Backup Plan for Packers
Even though Flores usually makes plenty of defensive adjustments between seasons, getting Jones on the team would certainly give the Packers an inside look at his defensive concepts. Even if they don't hire him, they can probably gather some intel on him by interviewing Jones.
Jones has been one of Flores' primary assistants for a while now, and he has certainly learned a thing or two from his sharp defensive mind. Also, as a defensive back coach and defensive passing game coordinator, he can probably be the perfect guy to solve the Packers' never-ending issues at cornerback.
This Packers' offense should do just fine for as long as head coach Matt LaFleur is calling the shots and quarterback Jordan Love is healthy. Then again, they can't afford to have the defense regress as it did in the Aaron Rodgers days and the pre-Hafley era.
The main names in the market aren't available at this point in the offseason, and those who are will probably end up taking head-coaching jobs somewhere else. But of all the options at hand, it feels like the Packers could do a whole lot worse than to hire Jones, who played a big role in the Vikings only allowing 9.7 yds per per completion (9th) and a league-low 158.5 passing yards per game.
Not only is Jones a rising star in the assistant coach scene, but poaching him would inevitably take a toll on the rival Vikings' stellar defense. That's a double win for a Packers team that will need an edge to get back to the top of the NFC North.