Dolphins Hire Packers DC Jeff Hafley as Their Next Head Coach

The Miami Dolphins could not deal with the Hurricanes stealing all the headlines. About fifteen minutes after the Miami Hurricanes' National Championship game had kicked off, the Dolphins officially announced they had agreed on a five-year contract with Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley to be their new head coach, now one of four teams to hire a new head coach this coaching cycle, alongside the Falcons, Giants, and Titans.

Hafley's History

Hafley has worked at the college and NFL level as a coach since 2001. His first gig as a head coach came in 2020, when he took over at Boston College. He led the Eagles to bowl eligibility in three out of his four seasons there. His final overall record as head coach was 22-26. Despite his sub-500 record, Hafley was touted for several NFL Jobs after the 2023 season, then hired by the Green Bay Packers as their defensive coordinator. In his first season, they improved dramatically, finishing in the top ten in several statistical categories, including total points and yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, EPA per play, and takeaways. In 2025, the Packers' defense looked like one of the top units in the NFL in the first half of the season, but injuries, most notably to Micah Parsons, proved to be too much to overcome.

There was some buzz that Hafley would be in the running for his first job as an NFL head coach, and once John Harbaugh was off the market, it did not take long for the Dolphins to decide that Hafley is the man to lead them into the future.

Expectations and Needs

The critical piece for Dolphins fans will be to give Hafley time to figure things out. This team has question marks at quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, and the secondary. Several MAJOR issues need to be addressed, and the process may be slow. The first decision appears to be all but made: cutting Tua Tagovailoa. Cutting him will cost the Dolphins over $99.1M, but his $54M cap hit for next season makes him effectively untradeable. Waiting until June 1st means that the Dolphins can split about $13M of the $99.1M into the 2027, and I suspect that is what they will do. Getting rid of Tua is one thing, but who's going to replace him?

Seventh-round rookie Quinn Ewers showed some promise during his three starts at the end of the season, but not enough to say that he'll definitely be the Dolphins' starting quarterback in 2026. There are a couple of free agents and quarterbacks with uncertain futures around the league that the Dolphins could take a swing at, most notably Malik Willis and Kyler Murray. Another key will be nailing the draft; the Dolphins have the 11th pick this year, and there are a couple of different directions they can go in.

The dream would be Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, but it seems unlikely that he will drop to the 11th pick. Mansoor Delane from LSU has also been mocked to the Dolphins, and would be a nice piece to bolster the secondary. It's going to be a long off-season for the Dolphins between the draft, the quarterback situation, and figuring out what to do with Tyreek Hill, but in my opinion, hiring a coach this soon after the season is a good thing; patience will be key.

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