Packers Lose Defensive Assistant Justin Hood to Falcons

The Green Bay Packers have at least two holes on their defensive coaching staff with Justin Hood getting a promotion to join the Atlanta Falcons.
Packers Lose Defensive Assistant Justin Hood to Falcons
Packers Lose Defensive Assistant Justin Hood to Falcons /
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are allowing their defensive assistant coaches to explore other opportunities. For Justin Hood, the opportunity to go to the Atlanta Falcons was too good to pass up.

A defensive quality control coach the past three seasons, Hood was named the Falcons’ secondary coach under new coach Raheem Morris.

With Atlanta, Hood will be reunited with Jerry Gray. Gray was the Packers’ defensive backs/passing-game coordinator from 2020 through 2022. Hood worked with Gray in 2021 and 2022.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was quick to credit Hood several times when asked about the play of the secondary. Heading into Week 18 game against Detroit in 2022, for instance, LaFleur said: “I think just what Jerry and Ryan Downard and Justin Hood do for those guys and getting them coached up on some of the looks they can potentially see. I really think the communication and everybody being on the same page. We’ve had less coverage busts, which is typically a recipe for giving up big plays.”

The Packers ranked 10th in opponent passer rating in 2021 and 15th in 2022 but plunged to 25th in 2023. Those numbers were impacted by the midseason trade of Rasul Douglas and the absences of Jaire Alexander. They combined for nine interceptions in 2022 but only one in 2023. The Packers had to lean heavily on journeyman Corey Ballentine and seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine. Those two played key roles in the team reaching the playoffs.

Before arriving in Green Bay, Hood spent the 2019 and 2020 season as the secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator at Kent State.

Hood was a four-year starter at Ashland (Ohio) University from 2004 through 2007. LaFleur was the offensive coordinator there in 2007.

Over the last week-and-a-half, the Packers have fired defensive coordinator Joe Barry and replaced him with Jeff Hafley. Defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery reportedly will not return. LaFleur hired former NFL quarterback Sean Mannion to assist the quarterbacks and the passing game.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.