Jeff Hafley was announced as Boston College's head coach on Saturday morning.
"Jeff Hafley was someone we targeted from the outset and we could not be happier to welcome Jeff, Gina, Hope and Leah to Boston College," said BC AD Martin Jarmond. "Jeff's shown throughout his coaching career he is a tremendous leader with high integrity and a gift for teaching. His passion, leadership and ability to recruit and develop student-athletes make him the right fit to lead Boston College to greater heights on and off the field."
Navy's Ken Niumatalolo was a strong candidate for the position, but as evidenced by his dalliances with BYU and Arizona, he's proven famously difficult to pull out of Annapolis. Once Niumatalolo and another candidate removed themselves from the process, BC quickly moved to Hafley.
A former assistant of Greg Schiano at Rutgers and Tampa Bay, Hafley, 40, spent just one season at Ohio State as co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, a turnaround that saw the Buckeyes jump from 42nd to second in pass efficiency defense en route to a 13-0 record, a Big Ten championship and a berth opposite Clemson in a Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Dec. 28.
While it is not addressed in the release, industry precedent states Hafley will remain with Ohio State through the completion of its season, which could be as late as Jan. 13. He will be introduced at BC on Monday. Signing Day is Wednesday.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.