The Green Bay Packers announced the promotion of Ryan Mahaffey (muh-HAFF-ee) to wide receivers coach on March 12, 2024.
Mahaffey enters his fourth season with the Packers, having originally joined Green Bay in 2021 as an offensive quality control coach. He has spent the past two seasons as the assistant offensive line coach for the Packers. Mahaffey came to Green Bay after coaching in college from 2013-20. The former tight end/fullback at Northern Iowa (2007-10) spent the 2019-20 seasons at his alma mater as the offensive coordinator. Mahaffey also worked as the recruiting coordinator/tight ends (2013) and co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers (2016) at UNI. Between those stints, he was a graduate assistant/wide receivers coach at Notre Dame (2014-15) and the tight ends coach at Western Kentucky (2017-18). After his collegiate playing career, Mahaffey signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and appeared in five games that season for the Indianapolis Colts. In 2012, he spent some time with the Miami Dolphins.
- Joined the Packers on March 1, 2021, as offensive quality control coach and was promoted to assistant offensive line coach on Feb. 1, 2022.
- Enters his third season with the Packers after coaching eight years at the collegiate level.
- In 2022, assisted with a line that ranked No. 7 in the NFL in sacks allowed (32).
- In his first season leading the offense at Northern Iowa in 2019, helped the Panthers tie a school record with eight home wins and advance to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) quarterfinals.
- Appeared in 51 games with 43 starts as a fullback/tight end at Northern Iowa and twice earned second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors.
- Signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in June 2011 and went on to appear in five games that season with the Indianapolis Colts.
Ryan Mahaffey enters his third season with the Packers and his second season as assistant offensive line coach, having been promoted to the position on Feb. 1, 2022.
Mahaffey (muh-HAFF-ee), was initially hired by Head Coach Matt LaFleur on March 1, 2021, as an offensive quality control coach after two years as the offensive coordinator (2019-20) at Northern Iowa.
Last season, Mahaffey assisted Luke Butkus with an offensive line that ranked No. 7 in the NFL with 32 sacks allowed, including 17 in Weeks 7-18, which tied for the third fewest in the league over that span. He also helped guide G/T Elgton Jenkins to his second Pro Bowl selection, his second in the last three seasons. The line helped RB Aaron Jones register a career-high 1,121 rushing yards (No. 9 in the NFL) and rank No. 2 in the league among RBs with an average of 5.26 yards per carry.
In 2021, Mahaffey was part of a staff that helped the offense rank in the top 10 in the league in passing offense (No. 8, 253.8 ypg), total offense (No. 10, 365.6 ypg), scoring offense (No. 10, 26,5 ppg), giveaways (t-No. 1, 13) and time of possession (No. 1, 32:43). Assisting with the tight ends, he worked with veteran TE Marcedes Lewis, who posted 23 receptions for 214 yards (9.3 avg.), his most catches since joining the Packers in 2018. Mahaffey also helped develop TE Josiah Deguara, who led Green Bay tight ends with 25 receptions for 245 yards (9.8 avg.) and two touchdowns.
In Mahaffey's first season leading the offense at Northern Iowa in 2019, the Panthers tied a school record with eight home wins, finished No. 2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 6-2 conference record and advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) quarterfinals, ending the season with a No. 5 national ranking. QB Will McElvain threw for an MVFC freshman-record 2,778 yards and 20 TDs and was named a third-team All-American by Phil Steele's College Football and a Jerry Rice National Freshman of the Year semifinalist. WR Isaiah Weston was a first-team All-MVFC selection after recording 43 catches for 1,053 yards (FCS-best 24.49 avg.).
From 2017-18, Mahaffey spent two seasons as the tight ends coach at Western Kentucky. During the 2018 season, Mahaffey helped TE Mik'Quan Deane earn second-team All-Conference USA honors after leading the team in receiving TDs (six) while ranking No. 2 in receptions (44) and receiving yards (530).
In his first season with the Hilltoppers in 2017, Mahaffey's TEs helped the WKU offense rank No. 7 nationally in passing yards per game (335.0) and No. 8 in completion percentage (66.0). TE Deon Yelder posted 688 receiving yards and 52 points scored, both single-season school records among TEs. A fifth-year senior and former walk-on who had not recorded a reception prior to the 2017 season, Yelder was invited to play in the 2017 Reese's Senior Bowl and has appeared in 29 career games for the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mahaffey arrived at Western Kentucky after serving as Northern Iowa's co-offensive coordinator/WRs coach in 2016. He helped three offensive players pick up All-MVFC honors for the Panthers in 2016, including OL Trevor Hanson (second team), OL Robert Rathje (second team) and RB Michael Malloy (honorable mention). He also coached WR Daurice Fountain, a fifth-round selection (No. 159 overall) by the Indianapolis Colts in 2018.
Prior to returning to UNI, Mahaffey spent two years (2014-15) as a graduate assistant/WRs coach at Notre Dame, where he worked with LaFleur, who coached the Fighting Irish's quarterbacks in 2014. During his stint in South Bend, Mahaffey helped coach WR Will Fuller, who earned second-team All-America honors from The Associated Press following the 2015 season and was selected by the Houston Texans with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Mahaffey gained his first coaching experience with Northern Iowa in 2013, when he served as the recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach.
A former fullback/tight end, Mahaffey signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in June 2011 and went on to appear in five games that season with the Indianapolis Colts. He also spent time with the Miami Dolphins in 2012.
Mahaffey was a four-year letterwinner at Northern Iowa (2007-2010), seeing action as TE and FB. He played in 51 career games with 43 starts, recording 28 catches for 251 yards (9.0 avg.) and six TDs. Mahaffey was a two-time second-team All-MVFC selection (2008, 2009) and was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer team as a redshirt freshman in 2007. He was team captain in 2010 and named to the MVFC All-Academic team twice in his career. Mahaffey attended Grinnell (Iowa) High School, where he earned first-team all-state honors from the Des Moines Register and third-team all-state recognition from the Iowa Newspaper Association.
Born Nov. 28, 1987, in Des Moines, Iowa, Mahaffey earned a degree in economics at Northern Iowa in 2011. He and his wife, Molly, live in De Pere, Wis., with their two sons, Trace and Sterling, and daughter, Jordan (JoJo).
