For the majority of the 2024 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers pass rush was, in a word, ineffective at worst and inconsistent at best. While they finished with 45 sacks on the year, ranking in the top-ten in the NFL, a full one-third of them happened in exactly two games. The Packers racked up eight sacks against a woeful Tennessee Titans offensive line in Week Three and seven against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15.
What was most disappointing, however, was the lack of havoc. When Jeff Hafley was hired as the defensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 season, he promised that his defense would create chaos in opposing backfields, pressuring quarterbacks and taking down running backs before the crossed the line of scrimmage.
But that did not happen nearly as often as it should have.
Instead of addressing the problem by adding proven pass rushers, though, the Packers decided to switch coaches.
The Green Bay Packers Hired DeMarcus Covington as Defensive Line Coach
As Packers fans are well-aware, Green Bay had previously used many of their first round picks on defensive players. Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, Lukas Van Ness, Eric Stokes, Jaire Alexander, Quay Walker, and Devonte Wyatt were all first round selections by the team, with Gary and Van Ness, especially as defensive ends, expected to be adept at rushing the passer.
But Green Bay struggled in that department. While he made the Pro Bowl thanks to being voted in by other NFL players and coaches, Gary had just 7.5 sacks. Van Ness, who played most of the year with a broken thumb, had 3.0.
With so much talent on their roster already, though, the Packers did not believe that they were lacking the players to have a good pass rush. Instead, they decided a coaching change was needed.
Jason Rebrovich was fired and replaced with former New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington.
Green Bay Packers Star Rashan Gary Has High Praise for DeMarcus Covington
The message sent by firing Covington and not adding any free agents on the defensive line was clear: the current players need to produce or their time in Green Bay will soon come to an end.
And Gary believes that fans are going to see a very different attitude from the pass rushers this season:
“He’s intense on the details. The focus right now is detail-oriented, really getting coached up on different techniques and things like that to make us play fast.”
Hafley wants his players to play fast, and it seems like the team feels Rebrovich was slowing them down and having them play more careful. And while that approach helped them win 11 games, it was nowhere near good enough.
It will be interesting to see if this coaching change really does make a difference.
