Sean Duggan begins his second season with the Packers and his first as linebackers coach, having been promoted to the position on Jan. 31, 2025, after spending one season with the team as a defensive assistant.
Hired Feb. 26, 2024, Duggan (DUG-an), brought nine seasons of collegiate coaching experience to Green Bay, most recently spending four seasons (2020-23) at Boston College, where he coached linebackers all four years and added co-defensive co- ordinator duties in 2023.
As a defensive assistant with the Packers in 2024, Duggan was part of a staff that helped the Packers to top-10 NFL rankings in total defense (No. 5, 314.5 ypg), run defense (No. 7, 99.4 ypg), scoring defense (No. 6, 19.9 ppg), yards allowed per play (No. 5, 5.16), takeaways (No. 4, 31) and sacks (t-No. 8, 45), the first time since 1996 that Green Bay finished in the top 10 in the league in all six categories. Green Bay was one of only three NFL teams (Baltimore, Denver) to allow fewer than 100.0 rushing yards per game and fewer than 4.0 yards per carry (3.96) last season, just the second time since 2000 that the Packers had accomplished that feat in a season (2009). Green Bay moved up 21 spots in the league rankings in 2024 for run defense (No. 28 in 2023) as it allowed 28.94 fewer yards per game, and 25 spots in yards allowed per carry, ranking No. 3 in the NFL after ranking No. 28 in 2023 (4.42).
Duggan worked primarily with the linebackers last season and helped mentor LB Edgerrin Cooper, who earned PFWA All-Rookie honors and was the only player in the NFL to post 75-plus tackles (77), 13-plus tackles for a loss (13), three-plus sacks (3½), an interception (one), a forced fumble (one) and a fumble recovery (two) in 2024. Cooper became the only rookie in the league to hit those marks over the past 25 seasons (2000-24) and posted the most tackles for a loss by a Green Bay rookie since LB Clay Matthews (17) in 2009. Duggan also worked with LB Quay Walker, who posted a team-high 102 tackles (72 solo) and an average of 5.54 solo tackles per game, No. 5 in the league among players with 10-plus starts.
During his four seasons at Boston College, Duggan was part of a staff that helped lead the Eagles to bowl eligibility in three of those four seasons, including a 2023 campaign that was capped off with a win over No. 17-ranked SMU in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. In 2023, Duggan tutored LB Vinny DePalma, who earned third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors after leading the team and ranking No. 8 in the ACC with a career- high 93 tackles (41 solo). DePalma earned All-ACC honorable mention in 2022 under Duggan's tutelage after pacing the team with 87 tackles (49 solo).
In 2021, Duggan worked with LB Isaiah Graham-Mobley, who ranked No. 5 on the team with 52 tackles (34 solo) despite missing three games due to injury. Graham-Mobley went on to sign with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent and was with the team during the 2022 preseason. Duggan worked with current Packers LB Isaiah McDuffie at BC in 2020 as McDuffie ranked No. 2 in the conference and No. 5 in the nation with a career-high 107 tackles (54 solo) on his way to earning second-team All-ACC recognition. The Eagles moved up 52 spots in the national rankings in total defense (No. 73 in 2020 after finishing No. 125 in 2019) as they allowed nearly 62 fewer yards per game than the previous season (416.8 in 2020, 478.7 in 2019).
Duggan spent the 2019 season as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, where he was part of a defensive staff that helped the Buckeyes rank No. 1 in the nation in yards allowed per play (4.13), total defense (259.7 ypg), passing defense (156.0 ypg) and sacks (54). The Buckeyes ranked No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense (13.7 ppg), allowing nearly 12 fewer points per game than they did in 2018 (25.5 ppg, t-No. 50).
Duggan coached linebackers at UMass in 2018, where he tutored LB Bryton Barr, who was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the team with a career-high 147 tackles (56 solo), 10½ tackles for a loss and four sacks. Duggan also coached linebackers for two seasons (2016-17) at the University of Hawai'i, where he mentored LB Jahlani Tavai, who earned first-team All-Mountain West honors and posted a team-high 129 tackles (86 solo) in 2016, and LB Jerrol Garcia-Williams, who went on to play in 11 games as a rookie for the Denver Broncos in 2017.
Duggan began his coaching career in 2015 as a defensive graduate assistant at his alma mater, Boston College, where he was part of a staff that helped the Eagles rank No. 1 in the nation in total defense (254.3 ypg), No. 2 in rushing defense (83.2 ypg) and No. 4 in scoring defense (15.3 ppg). As a player for the Eagles (2011-14), Duggan appeared in 45 career games and was voted a team captain as a senior in 2014. He played in 11 games with four starts in 2014, posting 36 tackles (18 solo) for a BC defense that ranked No. 2 in the nation in rushing defense (94.5 ypg).
Duggan, who was born April 4, 1993, in Cincinnati, Ohio, earned his bachelor's degree in marketing and operations management at Boston College.
