Ryan Mahaffey enters his fifth season with the Packers and his second season as wide receivers coach, having been promoted to the position on Feb. 23, 2024.
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.
In his first year coaching the team's wide receivers in 2024, Mahaffey helped the Packers become the only team in the NFL last season to feature four WRs (Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks) who each posted 25-plus catches, 400-plus receiving yards and multiple receiving TDs. Among players with 50-plus targets, Reed ranked No. 2 in the league last season in passer rating when targeted (137.5), the top single-season mark by a Packers WR since Jordy Nelson (148.4) in 2011. Watson ranked No. 2 in the league in yards per catch (min. 25 rec.), an average of 21.4 yards per catch that was the top mark by a Packer (min. 25 rec.) since WR James Lofton's 22.0-yard average in 1984.
Mahaffey spent the previous two seasons (2022-23) assisting Luke Butkus with the offensive line, helping the Packers rank tied for No. 4 in the NFL over that span in sacks allowed (62) and No. 5 in sack percentage (5.1). In 2023, Green Bay ranked No. 3 in the league in sacks allowed (30), including just 12 in the final nine regular-season games. For the first time in franchise history, the Packers did not allow a sack in back- to-back games in a single postseason, and when combined with the two sacks allowed in the final three regular-season contests, it marked the first time since 2004 that Green Bay had allowed just two sacks over a five-game span.
With five-time All-Pro T David Bakhtiari sidelined for every game but one due to a knee injury, Mahaffey helped tutor T Rasheed Walker, a seventh-round pick in 2022, as he went on to start 15 games in 2023 at LT. Another second-year lineman, Zach Tom, started all 17 games at RT and committed just two penalties on the season. The two young tackles were part of a line that helped Green Bay become one of only two NFL teams to rank in the top six in the league in sacks allowed, giveaways (t-No. 6, 18) and third-down percentage (No. 5, 47.1) in 2023.
In 2022, Mahaffey assisted Butkus with a line that ranked No. 7 in the NFL with 32 sacks allowed, including 17 in Weeks 7-18, which was tied for the third fewest in the league over that span. Mahaffey also helped guide G Elgton Jenkins to his second Pro Bowl selection, his second in the last three seasons. The line helped RB Aaron Jones rank No. 9 in the NFL with 1,121 rushing yards and No. 2 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 in a season since 2017. Mahaffey also helped develop TE Josiah Deguara, who led Green Bay tight ends with 25 receptions for 245 yards (9.8 avg.) and two TDs.
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 went on to play 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).
