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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College head football coach Jeff Hafley announced various changes to his staff on Friday for the 2023 season that were implemented ahead of the Eagles’ spring practices. Ascending to a full-time role of associate head coach for offense and offensive development is Rob Chudzinski, previously BC’s special assistant to the head coach. Also in an elevated role on offense is quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko, who will take on the title of offensive coordinator, and wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt, who will take on the role of pass game coordinator.
Elevated to the roles of co-defensive coordinator are associate head coach and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and linebackers coach Sean Duggan. Hafley also added Paul Rhoads as BC’s new outside linebackers coach.
Both Chudzinski and Rhoads bring head coaching experience to the BC staff. Chudzinski was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2013, while Rhoads was at the helm of Iowa State from 2009-15.
Chudzinski will implement the scheme and develop the players and staff in his offensive vision and philosophy. He returns to the coaching ranks with 12 years of experience in the college game, including the previous three years at BC, plus 14 years of NFL experience; most notably as head coach of the Browns.
Chudzinski guided the Browns for one season; going 4-12 in 2013. He gained offensive coordinator experience at the professional level in his second of three stints in Cleveland during the 2007 and 2008 seasons as well as two years with the Carolina Panthers (2011-12) and three years with the Indianapolis Colts (2015-17). Chudzinski was initially hired by the Colts in 2014 as their associate head coach following the 2013 season in Cleveland. His first offensive coordinator opportunity came at his alma mater, the University of Miami, from 2001-03; overseeing the Hurricanes’ BCS National Championship offense.
Chudzinski’s NFL offenses ranked in the top-10 three times in total yards with Cleveland (2007, 8th), Carolina (2011, 7th) and Indianapolis (2016, 10th). Those same offenses were top 10 in points; Cleveland (8th), Carolina (5th), Indianapolis (8th).
Shimko, a rising offensive-mind in the coaching ranks at just 33 years old, joined Hafley’s first staff as tight ends coach, a position he held for two seasons, before transitioning to quarterbacks in 2022 and oversaw the development of Emmett Morehead. In his first two seasons, he mentored a pair of All-ACC tight ends in Trae Barry and 2020 All-American Hunter Long; a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins.
Morehead took over under center eight games into the 2022 season. He surpassed 250 passing yards in three of four starts and had three multi-touchdown games. Morehead and UNC’s Drake Maye were the only two freshmen or redshirt-freshmen in the country with multiple 325-yard, three-touchdown games in the country.
In his previous stint, the New Jersey native, helped tutor Russell Wilson as he was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-NFL Team for the first time in 2019. Shimko, who spent two years with the Seattle Seahawks, also worked with quarterbacks during a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Garden City Community College from 2016-17.
Wyatt arrived at BC in 2022 as the wide receivers coach and helped in the development of Zay Flowers into the program’s most prolific pass catcher. He coached another school record holder in his previous stop as recent graduate transfer to Boston College, Ryan O’Keefe, set the UCF single-season record for catches at 84 in 2021.
Overall, Wyatt has 33 years of coaching experience, including 32 in the college game. He has gained offensive coordinator experience at Kansas, Southern Mississippi and Texas. He was also the pass game coordinator at Oklahoma in 2005.
Abdul-Rahim has served as the Eagles’ defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator for three years, while holding the title of associate head coach for the past two seasons. In his three seasons with BC, Eagle defensive backs have claimed seven spots on the All-ACC Team. Nickel back Josh DeBerry, cornerback Elijah Jones and safety Jaiden Woodbey all earned All-ACC honors in 2022.
Abdul-Rahim’s secondary ranked third nationally in passing yards allowed (173.5 per game) during the 2021 season. The Eagles were also top-30 nationally in six other defensive categories; total defense, red zone defense, first downs allowed, third down percentage, team passing, and defensive touchdowns.
Prior to joining Hafley at BC, Abdul-Rahim spent the 2019 season at UMass, where he got his first experience as a defensive coordinator. He coached defensive backs and cornerbacks for three seasons at Maryland from 2016-18 following a two-year stint at Alabama, including two College Football Playoff appearances and the 2015 National Championship.
Duggan, a 2015 graduate of Boston College and former Eagle linebacker, returned to his alma mater in 2020 and has served as Hafley’s linebackers coach for three seasons. Over that time, he has coached three BC linebackers to the All-ACC Team, including 2020 selections Isaiah McDuffie and Max Richardson as well as returning 2022 All-ACC linebacker Vinny DePalma.
Under Duggan’s direction, McDuffie and Richardson turned into one of the most dynamic linebacker duos in 2020 as they each ranked in the top-45 nationally in tackles and top-four in the ACC. This past season, DePalma led the BC defense with 7.2 tackles per game, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
Following his senior season as a captain at BC, Duggan remained on the Heights as a graduate assistant for the 2015 team. He served stints as a linebackers coach at Hawai’i (2016-17) and UMass (2018) before meeting up with Hafley at Ohio State as a graduate assistant in 2019.
Rounding out the staff is Rhoads, the former Iowa State head coach. He brings 32 years of experience in the college game and spent the fall of 2022 as the defensive coordinator at Gulf Shores High School in Alabama; where he helped Gulf Shores to an 11-2 season, while earning Alabama 5A Assistant Coach of the Year.
In the college ranks, Rhoads most recently held a defensive analyst position with Ohio State in 2021 following the 2020 season at Arizona as the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator. He previously coached defensive backs at UCLA (2018-19) and Arkansas (2016-17), where he was also the defensive coordinator for one season. In seven seasons at Iowa State, Rhoads guided the Cyclones to a 32-55 record and three bowl game appearances.
Hafley and Rhoads worked together for two seasons at Pittsburgh, where Rhoads was the defensive coordinator from 2000-07. During that eight-year stretch, five of Rhoads’ defenses ranked in the nation’s top-30 for scoring, while three finished in the top-12 in the NCAA for fewest yards allowed.
Additional changes to the staff include the previously announced hire of Matt Applebaum as offensive line coach, the same position he held at BC from 2020-21.
2023 Boston College Football Coaching Staff
Jeff Hafley, Head Coach
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
Matt Applebaum, Offensive Line
Rob Chudzinski, Associate Head Coach for Offense/Offensive Development
Sean Duggan, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Savon Huggins, Running Backs
Vince Oghobaase, Defensive Line
Paul Rhoads, Outside Linebackers
Steve Shimko, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Matt Thurin, Special Teams Coordinator/Safeties
Darrell Wyatt, Wide Receivers/Pass Game Coordinator
Phil Matusz, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach
Abdul-Rahim’s Coaching Career
2021-22: Boston College, Associate Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach/Pass Game Coordinator
2020: Boston College, Defensive Backs Coach/Pass Game Coordinator
2019: Massachusetts, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
2018: Maryland, Cornerbacks Coach
2016-17: Maryland, Defensive Backs Coach
2015: Alabama, Assistant Director of Player Personnel
2014: Alabama, Defensive Analyst
2004-13: Friendship College Academy, Head Coach
Chudzinski’s Coaching Career
2020-22: Boston College, Special Assistant to the Head Football Coach
2015-17: Indianapolis Colts, Offensive Coordinator
2014-15: Indianapolis Colts, Associate Head Coach
2013: Cleveland Browns, Head Coach
2011-12: Carolina Panthers, Offensive Coordinator
2009-10: San Diego Chargers, Tight Ends Coach and Assistant Head Coach
2007-08: Cleveland Browns, Offensive Coordinator
2005-06: San Diego Chargers, Tight Ends Coach
2004: Cleveland Browns, Tight Ends Coach
2001-03: Miami (Fla.), Offensive Coordinator
1996-00: Miami (Fla.), Tight Ends Coach
1994-95: Miami (Fla.), Graduate Assistant
Duggan’s Coaching Career
2020-22: Boston College, Linebackers Coach
2019: Ohio State, Defensive Graduate Assistant
2018: Massachusetts, Linebackers Coach
2016-17: Hawai’i, Linebackers Coach
2015: Boston College, Graduate Assistant
Rhoads’ Coaching Career
2022: Gulf Shores H.S., Defensive Coordinator
2021: Ohio State, Defensive Assistant
2020: Arizona, Defensive Coordinator
2018-19: UCLA, Defensive Backs Coach
2017: Arkansas, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
2016: Arkansas, Defensive Backs Coach
2009-15: Iowa State, Head Coach
2008: Auburn, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
2000-07: Pittsburgh, Defensive Coordinator
1996-99: Iowa State, Defensive Backs Coach
1995: Iowa State, Inside Linebackers Coach
1994: Pacific, Pass Game Coordinator
1992-93: Pacific, Defensive Backs Coach
1991: Ohio State, Graduate Assistant
1989-90: Utah State, Graduate Assistant
Shimko’s Coaching Career
2022: Boston College, Quarterbacks Coach
2020-21: Boston College, Tight Ends Coach
2018-19: Seattle Seahawks: Assistant Quarterbacks Coach
2016-17: Garden City Community College, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
2015: Georgia, Graduate Assistant
2014: Western Michigan, Recruiting Operations
2013: Rutgers, Graduate Assistant
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