Illustrations by Alberto Seveso

Haf Time

他的明星四分卫可能会缺席这个赛季, but with a couple of the best recruiting classes in program history and big plans for the future, 主教练杰夫·哈夫利带领波士顿大学橄榄球再次腾飞.

It was a few minutes past 9 a.m. 在八月一个闷热的星期四, 说唱歌手50美分(50 Cent)通过鱼田屋的扬声器大声播放, 电子游戏软件于2018年推出的大型室内训练设施. The AstroTurf gleamed as burly linemen crashed into one another on one half of the practice field, 改进他们的阻挡技术. 在另一边，一场7对7的混战正在进行. Phil Jurkovec, the star quarterback of this absurdly high-powered offense, bobbed around the pocket. Zay Flowers, the most dynamic wide receiver in the Atlantic Coast Conference and one of the best in all of college football, flashed toward the end zone. 在一个接缝路线上是新转会的近端球员特雷·巴里, who at 6-foot-6 and 244 pounds has a nearly identical build to Rob Gronkowski and might turn out to be every bit the playmaker.

来自至少四支球队的NFL球探在场边徘徊, and every few minutes a voice came over the PA system to inform players of the next drill and to remind them to stay hydrated. “继续喝，”那个声音用欢快的语调说，盖过了50美分的声音. “Keep getting those fluids.”

At a time of day when most of us are topping off our second cup of coffee and settling into the inbox, 老鹰队在热浪中艰难前行. 这是一种季前赛的强度，你会期望从一个球队, for the first time in years, 感觉它可能会有什么进展. 在经历了十年左右的平庸之后，老鹰队突然展翅高飞. With the season fast approaching, 专家们都在问BC大学能否挤进全国前25名, 粉丝们和最近的记忆一样兴奋.

“Our culture is ‘F.T.T.进攻锋手亚历克·林德斯特伦在场边对我说. “For. The. Team.” He was pouring sweat and wearing a big grin across his face that made it clear there was no place in the world he’d rather be. “我为我身边的人付出了我的一切, for the guy next to him, for everyone on the team.”

This season will be Lindstrom’s fifth and final year as an Eagle before he’s likely taken in the 2022 NFL draft (following in the footsteps of his big brother and fellow BC lineman Chris, 他在2019年被亚特兰大猎鹰队首轮选中). 作为一名大学运动员，每个赛季都有值得纪念的时刻, 而且，就像老鹰在接下来的几周里痛苦地体会到的那样，它的起起伏伏. But nothing has really been the same since Jeff Hafley arrived as head coach in December 2019. 哈夫利被俄亥俄州立大学挖走了, where he’d spent a single season as defensive coordinator and was instrumental in the Buckeyes winning the Big Ten Championship. Before that, 他在NFL教练的阶梯上稳步上升, 帮助管理联盟中最艰难的防守.

Hafley, who wore white Adidas sneakers, black Adidas shorts, and a long-sleeve BC T-shirt, 在允许我参加的那部分练习中，我几乎一句话也没说. For the most part, he hung out in the back of the end zone with his headset on and clipboard in hand. “他可能不会在外面大喊大叫，摔着剪贴板,” Lindstrom said, 但如果你做错了什么，他会告诉你的, 他会告诉你怎么做, and you’re going to get better.”

Few first-year head coaches made an impression like the one the 42-year-old Hafley did last year. The Eagles’ 6-5 record may seem like just another mediocre result from a decade full of them, but BC fans know that the team could have easily been 8-3 if a few plays had gone differently. At moments, they were underdogs who captivated national audiences by nearly pulling off major upsets against top-ranked Clemson (a game that 4.有300万人收看了这个节目). 12 North Carolina. Other times, 他们被困在里面，在巨大的压力下执行他们的比赛计划, 包括在主场加时赛中战胜匹兹堡.

赛季揭幕战距离高露洁只有几周的时间了, there seemed to be universal agreement among football writers that BC fans are in for a treat this year. 杰出的大学橄榄球分析师(BC校友)乔·泰西托雷，93届, P’21, of ESPN and ABC told me that the Eagles are poised to put on a show given the raw talent on the roster and Hafley and his staff’s football smarts. “It’s an offense that could arguably be the best offense in BC history—and that’s saying a lot given some of the offenses we’ve had,” he said. Tessitore发现的东西最令人印象深刻, though, is that in just eighteen months, Hafley has built a national recruiting pipeline that’s funneling talent from all over the country to the Heights. Heading into this season, for example, ESPN将BC大学2021年的新生排在全国第38位.

For the first time in a long time, the buzz around BC football can be felt well beyond campus. The truth is, college sports, especially football, rarely get their due in Boston. “It’s a pro sports town, probably more so than another other in the country,” said Chad Finn, the Boston Globe sports media columnist. Sure, people in Boston recall the glory days of Doug Flutie and the Hail Mary against Miami. But, as Finn quipped, “This is a city where the college football game that people talk about most is still a Harvard-Yale tie from 1968.”

Outside of the Boston bubble, though, 大学橄榄球也许是这个国家第二受欢迎的运动. And when you have a program from a Jesuit Catholic university in New England that’s stacked with future NFL players and is running with the Southern powerhouses, fans pay attention. 芬恩说:“我认为英国广播公司可以激发很多人的想象力.

That was the plan, anyway. 刹那间，哈夫利把所有的拼图都拼好了. 在赛季揭幕战中，老鹰队以51-0大胜高露洁, 尤尔科维奇投出303码，触地得分3次. But then, the very next week, he suffered a potentially season-ending hand injury against UMass. BC won the game anyway, 45-28, but the loss of Jurkovec cast a shadow over the Eagles' 2021 fortunes and presented Hafley with what could be the biggest test of his career.

现在他被迫重新配置拼图的各个部分. 好消息是替补四分卫丹尼斯·格罗塞尔, surrounded by potent weapons and one of the most experienced offensive lines in the game, 在尤尔科维奇缺席的情况下，他踢得好吗. And after beating Missouri in week four, the Eagles were off to their first 4-0 start since 2007. Stiffer challenges await, 但无论这个季节会发生什么, 波士顿大学的足球前途一片光明. In July, Sports Illustrated ranked BC’s recruiting class for 2022 as a staggering eighth-best in the country. 这是一个新的基金会，将在未来几年影响老鹰队.

One day in 2018, Hafley and his family were out eating burgers near their home in the Bay Area of California when his phone rang. It was Ryan Day, the former San Francisco 49s quarterbacks coach who had just been named head coach at Ohio State. Day cut right to the point: He wanted Hafley to quit his job as defensive backs coach for the 49ers and join the Buckeyes as a co-defensive coordinator. Hafley laughed out loud. “我不会回到大学橄榄球场上，”他告诉戴. “No way.”

在那一刻，戴的提议对哈夫利来说只不过是一种倒退. 很少有教练能成为NFL的边线球员, 很少有人愿意离开美国最受欢迎的联赛. 哈夫利比任何人都更清楚这一点, 教练这个职业往往伴随着不断的晋升, personal sacrifices, 游手好闲的生活方式让大多数人疲惫不堪. 他的冒险之旅始于2001年伍斯特理工学院, where he was 22 years old, making $2,作为跑卫教练，一个赛季挣500美元, and thinking, “I’m on top of the world.” He slept under his desk, ate peanut butter out of the jar, and drove a car that would spit black stuff out of the vents whenever he turned on the AC. He upgraded to a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach at the University of Albany in 2002, 2006年跳槽到匹兹堡. In his five seasons at Pitt, 他逐渐成为了防守后卫教练, met the love of his life, got married, and then got fired. “If you coach long enough,” Hafley said, “you’re going to be on a staff that gets fired.”

The pink slip from Pitt came with a silver lining—an offer in 2011 to join Rutgers as the defensive backs coach. For Hafley, 这感觉有点像命中注定:他在新泽西出生长大, 他渴望回家和父亲在一起, 她当时正在与一种恶性癌症作斗争. When the doctors made the diagnosis, they told his father he had three weeks to live. 但他坚持了将近一年. “那一年，他奄奄一息，但仍在战斗. And I was there with him all the time because [Rutgers Coach] Greg Schiano made it easy for me to go back and forth,” Hafley said. “所以，我相信我是在那个时候被带到新泽西来和他在一起的.”

What was a difficult year personally turned out to be a breakthrough year professionally. Rutgers went 9-4, 在细条纹碗中击败爱荷华州立大学, 2011赛季结束时，他的传球防守排名全国第九. On top of that, Hafley was credited with recruiting future NFL wide receiver Leonte Carroo and quarterback Gary Nova, 谁后来创造了73次触地得分的学校记录. So when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Schiano in January 2012 to be their new head coach, 他邀请哈夫利和他一起担任助理防守后卫教练. After two seasons in Tampa Bay, 哈夫利转投克利夫兰布朗队, 2014年他被聘为防守后卫教练. In his two seasons in Cleveland, he helped the team earn a reputation for having one of the toughest pass defenses in the league. It was also during this time that Hafley and his wife, Gina, had their first child, a daughter. From there, 2016年，他和家人搬到了旧金山, 他在49人队当了三个赛季的后卫教练, and welcomed his second daughter.

Photo: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

从外面看，它看起来像一个迷人的上升. But Hafley was quick to acknowledge the toll that bouncing around the NFL takes on families. He half-joked that his daughters know which city they were born in based on what team he was coaching at the time. “As coaches, 我们收拾行李搬家，在一家旅馆里住了一个月, 而我们的妻子却独自在家照顾孩子. It’s hard on them. It’s really hard,” he said. “And I’m fortunate Gina has been there with me for some of the biggest moves and taking care of our kids and being supportive because without that support, you have no chance.”

So as he sat in California, surrounded by his family while Ryan Day tried to convince him over the phone to leave the NFL and join him at Ohio State, Hafley simply couldn’t imagine packing up his daughters and moving them yet again for his job. 在让哈夫利继续吃汉堡之前, though, 戴让他花几天时间考虑一下.

在接下来的几个星期里，戴不停地打电话. 慢慢地，哈夫利开始考虑重返大学橄榄球队的想法. 然后他开始和吉娜谈论这件事. 然后他开始在黑暗中躺在床上, tossing and turning and pondering each and every career choice that had led him to that point. “晚上，我开始思考我为什么要做教练，”他告诉我. “这是为了培养年轻人. 而是和年轻人在一起，建立关系.哈夫利解释说，在NFL，教练可以与球员建立联系. 他们可以帮助他们赢得职业碗的出场机会和巨额合同, 他们可以帮助他们在世界上最大的舞台之一赢得比赛. “但你改变不了NFL的生活. 你可以影响他们，但你不能改变他们。. “你不能让一个十六七岁的孩子成为一个男人, help them get a great job, 帮助他们参加国家橄榄球联盟.”

After a few more calls with Day and a few more long talks with Gina, Hafley was Ohio-bound. 在他的第一个赛季，球队的防守遵循着熟悉的轨迹. It went from being ranked seventy-second nationally in yards per play to number one. 247Sports网站将哈弗利评为2019年度最佳防守协调员, and an anonymous source gushed to Sports Illustrated that Hafley was a “superstar” whom the team hoped to be able to keep around for a second season. 然而，电子游戏软件却另有打算.

2019年12月7日，俄亥俄州立大学击败威斯康星大学，赢得十大冠军. 那天深夜，哈夫利的电话响了. 这又是一个改变职业生涯的电话, 这次是马丁·贾蒙德发来的, then BC’s athletic director, who wanted Hafley to fly out to Boston and interview for the head coach position. “我已经下定决心了，”哈夫利回忆说. “When I agreed to go to that interview, I knew If I got the offer, I was taking it.12月14日，电子游戏软件任命哈夫利为新任总教练. Two weeks later, the first reports of COVID-19 came out of China and the world went into a tailspin.

在工作的18个月里, Hafley has built a national recruiting pipeline that’s funneling talent from all over the country to the Heights.

Hafley could never have imagined that his first year as a head coach would be marked by social distancing, Zoom meetings, 还有其他一系列公共卫生预防措施. “去年有点模糊，”他说. “我仍然觉得我从来没有在校友体育场真正执教过一场比赛.” That’s understandable. Before home games, 哈夫利会在更衣室里让自己兴奋起来, 准备好迎接尖叫的粉丝, and then he’d jog through the tunnel and enter the stadium only to find seats filled with cardboard cutouts of people. “Kind of eerie,” he said.

To stand in Fish Field House is to feel the weight of BC college football history. 高大的弗鲁蒂和马特·瑞安的海报侧翼的入口. 后面的墙上有一排20件NFL球衣, 都是在哥伦比亚大学被选中的首轮新秀. 这是一个强有力的提醒，提醒我们这个项目所处的环境是稀薄的. It’s also a powerful reminder of what’s at stake for every player and coach who steps through these doors. So it was appropriate, in a way, 我就是在那间农舍里遇见哈夫利的, 在训练营正式开始前的几周. “我一直觉得压力是一种特权，”哈夫利告诉我. “When you do good things and work hard, people notice you, and that adds pressure.”

换句话说，压力可能是成功的副产品. 如果说哈夫利在哪个领域取得了不同寻常的成功, 它是发现年轻人才和招募球员. Every coach at this level is a tactical whiz who can put together a dazzling game plan on any given Saturday. What sets Hafley apart, 据这些年来观察过他并和他一起工作的人说, 他在与玩家建立关系上投入了多少时间, with their families, and with his fellow coaches. 其结果是一个庞大的足球掮客网络.

“He has already taken recruiting to a level that has never been understood at BC,” said ESPN’s Tessitore, 他对哈夫利的招聘技巧有独特的见解, John, is a placeholder on the team. “Jeff is A-plus-plus in the relationship business, but not in a glib or salesman kind of way.”

当然，球员不只是落入哈夫利的圈套. Recruiting is hard work. 他的工作人员飞往全国各地, 仔细查看可能转学生的视频, and sits in living rooms or Zoom meetings for long conversations about life-altering decisions with exquisitely talented teenagers and their parents.

Isaiah Graham-Mobley, 本赛季从坦普尔大学转来的后卫, said Hafley was so welcoming the first time they spoke that he was instantly sold on the program. “教练组是一群拥有丰富NFL经验的优秀球员, and that was a real high point for me as I was thinking about how I wanted to spend my last year in college,” Graham-Mobley said.

When Hafley arrived at BC, 每个人都告诉他，他需要集中精力招募东北人. But he was confident he could attract players from around the country with the lure of a national brand with a stellar academic reputation located in one of the greatest cities in the world. “We’re going to recruit the Northeast and we’re going to recruit it really hard,” he said. “But we can recruit California, we can recruit Texas, we can recruit Alabama, we can recruit Georgia.” When I asked Hafley if he has a go-to line to close the deal with a coveted recruit, he bristled a bit and explained that recruiting college players isn’t a purely transactional exchange the same way that drafting or trading for NFL players is. In a lot of cases, recruiting is a family affair, and it’s important to treat it as such. “I think the parents trust us that we’re going to make sure these kids grow as men,” he said.

在一个以周为单位衡量成功的游戏中, 哈夫利一直试图把眼光放长远. “It just takes time,” he said. “You build a relationship with these kids when they’re 16 and 17 years old and it allows you to coach them hard and it allows you to be there for them. And years down the road, these kids will probably still be calling me and we’ll still have that connection.”

Success begets success, which, 当谈到哈夫利和他的未来时, 会让BC的粉丝有点不安吗. They still remember how Tom Coughlin parlayed a few seasons in Chestnut Hill into an NFL coaching career that includes multiple Super Bowl rings. 那么，若干年后，哈夫利会在哪里呢? 甚至提起这个话题都是禁忌, 但它萦绕在每一个追随他事业的人的脑海里. When I asked the Globe作为主教练，哈弗利面临的最大挑战是什么, 他翻转了:bbc最大的挑战将是留住他.

深夜的电话还会不断打来. There will be offers in the NFL and offers at what some people perceive to be more established college programs, said Tessitore, 当被问及他是否认为哈夫利会长期留在老鹰队时，谁表示反对. “在他的生命中，是否会有一个点，也许他想要一个不同的挑战? 是的，我认为这对我们所有人都是存在的，”Tessitore说. “但我不认为出口标志会很快出现在高速公路上.”

至于哈夫利，他向我保证他不着急. 对他和他的家人来说，波士顿比其他任何地方都更像家. 他离他在新泽西的家人不远，住在一个他热爱的城市. 他说，不列颠哥伦比亚省是一个非常合适的人选.

然后是他想在足球场上完成的一切. 他告诉我2021年将是重要的一年, 是什么让尤尔科维奇的受伤更令人沮丧, 但哈夫利并不只是想要一两个好赛季. 他想建立一个项目，把不列颠哥伦比亚省提升到前所未有的水平. “对我来说，这不再是追逐的问题，”他说. “It’s about being at the right place with the right people and knowing that every time we step out on the field, 我们有机会参加比赛.”