Green Bay Packers two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander fits the mold of a top NFL cornerback with his high-level play and big personality, but when he talks about what he sees for his team's successes, the on-field play matches his off-field words.
Days prior to the seventh-seeded Packers upsetting the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys 48-32, a game they led 27-0 in part because of an early interception Alexander had off of Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the 2023 NFC wild-card round, he photobombed a local news reporter outside of Lambeau Field, saying "Pack is back!"
Alexander made an even bigger proclamation on Tuesday about how sees the Packers' postseason pursuits concluding in 2024: winning the Super Bowl in New Orleans on his birthday, Feb. 9.
"It's hard to say right now man, but at the end of the day, I see us hoisting that [Vince Lombardi] trophy on my birthday, February 9th," Alexander said on Tuesday.
Perhaps what is driving Alexander's confidence is some of the new additions on the defensive side of the ball including safety Xavier McKinney and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. McKinney, who signed a four-year, $67 million deal to join Green Bay after four seasons with the New York Giants, ranked as Pro Football Focus' best cover safety (91.2 coverage grade) after he recorded three interceptions while not allowing any passing touchdowns in 2023. He also led all players who lined up at safety last season and had at least 20 passes thrown their way in forcing tight window throws with an NFL-best 30.8% tight window throw percentage.
"It's so fun playing with X," Alexander said. "I sent him a text this morning. I was looking at some of his film, and I said 'man, that break you made in practice the other day was elite man.' X is super hard on himself, super critical of himself. That's what going to make him great. He was like 'yeah, I have to make that play though.' Yeah, you do have to make that play, but it's fun having him back there."
Alexander also raved about Hafley, the former Boston College head coach who has seven years of NFL coaching experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (secondary/safeties coach from 2012-2013), Cleveland Browns (2014-2015) and San Francisco 49ers (defensive backs coach from 2016-2018). Hafley has publicly promised to run a more aggressive, press-man-coverage style defense a significant contrast to his predecessor Joe Barry's zone-based scheme.
"Man, I love Haf," Alexander said. "We had a good conversation yesterday actually. Haf is super smart man. Super smart. He's a DB's coach. You would love to play for a guy like Haf because he is going to break it down and cater it to what we're covering. Besides football even, Haf and I have very interpersonal conversations. He's more than just a coach. He's a man, I'm a man, and we can have those conversations. ... The first day he came in, I was in his office. I talked to all the [new defensive] coaches. He is very open to suggestions, ideas from me, which not a lot of coaches want to hear sometimes. I just knew from that point that we are going to have something."
