After several seasons of not exceeding expectations with talent, Boston College football is completely rebuilding for the future starting in 2020.
Middle-of-the-pack Power Five teams like Boston College have been competing hard to stay relevant in the ACC this past decade but not efficient enough to win their division. The Eagles are starting over to get back in the chase for the ACC Atlantic title for the first time since 2008.
For the past four seasons, they have been playing well enough to get to a bowl game but enough to make an efficient run for the Atlantic. This division does have the tough challenges for other teams having to play against the Clemson Tigers. Boston College has not gotten out of third place in the division since the 2009 season when finished second behind Clemson.
Their last double-digit winning season was in 2007 when they had senior quarterback Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons current starting quarterback, on their team.
The Eagles have had plenty of talent in the past decade from linebacker Luke Kuechly, defensive end/outside linebacker Harold Laundry and running back A.J. Dillion. Despite having great talented players in their program, the Eagles have never gotten past seven wins since 2009.
New leadership was needed after seven seasons of head coach Steve Addazio, where he accumulated a 44-44 overall record (22-34 in ACC play). The Eagles decided to hire former Ohio State defensive coordinator (2019) and San Francisco 49ers defensive backs coach (2016-18) Jeff Hafley.
Hafley has built a firm and smart coaching staff but the impact of COVID-19 has suppressed their time and efforts on establishing the program during spring ball. The transition to Hafley will not be easy for some time as the Eagles are projected to finish last in the Atlantic by Athlon Sports. They also finished with the 13th-ranked recruiting class in the ACC for 2020.
The first-year coach is tasked with not only building a solid sustainable future sometime soon but to also see results on the field whenever the Eagles have high-caliber players they can recruit and build up.