How Jeff Hafley Has Adjusted To Effects Of Coronavirus Outbreak

The Boston College head coach is trying to think outside the box during these challenging times

In his first year as a head coach, Jeff Hafley has already had to adjust his practices due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, the coronavirus. Just as the new staff had started to settle in with their team, the outbreak hit which has forced players and staff off campus and back to their homes. 

With little time under their belt at the five formal practices they had, the coaches were just getting to know their team. Hafley explained that they didn't get a chance to install his defensive gameplan. The players had just started to learn the basics, working on third down drills, not yet getting to red zone defenses. 

But when news came of the outbreak, the coaches put the student's health and safety first and sent them home.  By the end of the day on Wednesday, all of the players would have departed campus to head home. Coaches, many of whom are new to the area also headed home. Hafley mentioned that special teams coordinator Matt Thurin had not found housing yet, and had to fly home to Ohio. 

Today Jeff Hafley told reporters on a conference call, that he still has a job to do, and laid out what he has been doing to achieve that. "It's going to be really hard for any new staff", Hafley told reporters on the call. Even with all of this adversity for a new staff, he won't be making or accepting excuses come August.

The staff still has a plan to connect with their team and keep them progressing towards the 2020 season. Each day they have set aside an hour to meet with various position groups via video chat. But as Hafley explained, he wants to watch out for the mental health of his players during this challenging time saying "it's not just about football." 

The staff also has a tall task in terms of keeping the players in shape during this hiatus. Because the staff can not monitor the health of their players, again the strength and conditioning staff are going to meet with players to check in on specially tailored fitness and nutritional plans. 

In terms of recruiting, this again is a new challenge, one that is novel for any coach but an added challenge for a new staff. The Boston College coaching staff will be trying out some creative methods of reaching out to recruits. Hafley mentioned they need to move beyond texting, because that "will never develop a relationship" with his staff. He plans to use Facetime, so that recruits can see the enthusiasm and energy of the staff, but acknowledges that nothing will beat the face to face meetings on campus. 

A lot of what Hafley is implementing during this time, he is learning on the fly. He and his staff have to continue to think outside the box to achieve their goals for the 2020 seaosn. The reality of it all though is that the safety and health of everyone in the program is paramount. He understands how dangerous the coronavirus is, but is concerned others don't. "Unfortunately people aren't taking it seriously enough".