Peter Hansen enters his third season as the inside linebackers coach with the Carolina Panthers. Hansen brings 17 years of coaching experience, including seven in the NFL, to the staff.
After reuniting with linebacker Josey Jewell from their time in Denver, Jewell thrived under Hansen's coaching in 2024, recording the fifth-most tackles by a player in their first season with the Panthers (97). Despite appearing in just 12 games, Jewell set career-highs in sacks (3.5) and passes defensed (seven) and tied his career-high with seven tackles for loss. In Weeks 13 and 14, he became just the seventh player in the NFL since 1999 and the first since Devin White in 2020 (Weeks 15-16) to record at least 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.0 sack in back-to-back games.
Before being placed on injured reserve following Week 14, rookie linebacker Trevin Wallace ranked fourth in total tackles among rookies (63), despite only starting in eight games. He finished the season tied with Jon Beason for fifth in franchise history in total tackles through a player's first eight starts (58). Wallace made his first start in Week 5 against Chicago and joined Luke Kuechly as the only Panthers rookie to record 15+ tackles in a game in franchise history.
In his first season in Carolina (2023), Hansen helped guide sixth-year linebacker Frankie Luvu to a career-high and team-leading 125 tackles, while also receiving his first-career NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week Eight. Luvu became the only player in franchise history to record 125+ tackles, 5.5+ sacks and 10+ tackles for loss in a season.
With Denver (2022), Hansen's linebacking corps contributed to one of the NFL's top defenses as the Broncos ranked among the league leaders in a number of categories, including total defense (seventh – 320.0 yards per game), rushing defense (10th – 109.8), opponent third-down conversion percentage (second – 34.1%), opponent redzone touchdown rate (seventh – 51.1%) and defensive three-and-out percentage (fourth – 37.9). Linebackers Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell both established career highs in tackles and were one of three sets of teammates in the league to record at least 120 tackles and six tackles for loss that season.
At the college level, Hansen has served as UNLV's defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach (2020-21), and with Stanford (2008-10, 14-19). He worked as a strength & conditioning coach (2008), defensive assistant (2009-10) and inside linebackers coach (2014-19) for the Cardinal.
During his second stint with Stanford (2014-19), the team accumulated a 52-27 regular-season record and amassed five eight-win seasons. Stanford went to a bowl game in each of Hansen's first five seasons, winning four of the five contests. Part of a defensive coaching staff that helped Stanford produce a top three Pac-12 scoring defense each year from 2014-17, the team also finished in the top three in yards per game in 2014 (first – 287.4) and 2015 (third – 374.5).
Two of Hansen's charges at Stanford, Blake Martinez (Green Bay, 2016) and Bobby Okereke (Indianapolis, 2019) were selected in the NFL Draft. Martinez, led the Pac-12 in tackles (2015), while Okereke led the school in tackles in consecutive seasons (2017-18).
With San Francisco (2011-13), Hansen spent three seasons as a defensive assistant/quality control coach (2011-13), as the 49ers collected a 36-11-1 regular-season record and advanced to three consecutive NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl appearance.
An assistant coach at his alma mater, Palo Alto (Calif.) High School, for four seasons (2004-07) prior to his first stint at Stanford, Hansen worked primarily with the tight ends and defensive ends. After his first two seasons on staff, Hansen was promoted to defensive coordinator.
A two-sport athlete at Arizona, Hansen played both football and basketball and earned second-team All-Pac 10 honors (2000) as a special teams performer in football.
A Palo Alto, California native, Hansen and his wife, Stephanie, have three daughters, Georgia, Halle and Brooklyn, and a son, Isaiah.
- 2008 | Stanford - Strength & Conditioning
- 2009-10 | Stanford - Defensive Assistant
- 2011-13 | San Francisco 49ers - Defensive Assistant/Quality Control
- 2014-19 | Stanford - Inside Linebackers
- 2020-21 | UNLV - Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
- 2022 | Denver Broncos - Linebackers
- 2023- | Carolina Panthers - Linebackers
