The process of remaking the entire front office and finding a new Head Coach is over. Just a couple of weeks ago it appeared as if the Dolphins were going to once again not finish cleaning house and keep Head Coach Mike McDaniel, but finally Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross succumbed to the reality that all these half measures taken over the last 17 years with him as the owner haven’t worked. Stephen Ross fired Mike McDaniel January 8th which finally purged the team of former GM Chris Grier’s staff. It was crushing to me that they were once again going to half ass the process, but thankfully Ross finally did what had to be done. He didn’t do it quite right, it seemed as if he misled Mike McDaniel, but I believe that the move was necessary.
After hiring our new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan who was VP of Player Personnel with the Green Bay Packers, Sully conducted a thorough Head Coach search interviewing more than 10 Head Coach candidates. One long tenured veteran Head Coach, John Harbaugh was not one of them, Harbaugh had no interest in coming here. One very recently fired candidate, Sean McDermott who was just fired yesterday by the Buffalo Bills was also not interviewed. It became clear that Sully had his man a couple of days ago as Jeff Hafley was coming back for a 2nd interview and the reports were coming in that this was going to be it.
So, without further a do, Welcome to Miami new Head Coach Jeff Hafley!
From the very beginning of the process of finding our next Head Coach, I was fine with once again hiring a coordinator who was going to be a first time NFL Head Coach. Hafley spent 11 years as an assistant coach in College Football for 4 different, beginning with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Albany, Pittsburgh and then finally Rutgers University. In 2012, Hafley made the jump to the NFL as an Assistand Defensive Backs Coach with the Tamp Bay Buccaneers and then became their Defensive Back Coach in 2013. Hafley then went to the Cleveland Browns for 2 years in 2014 in the same capacity. He then spent the next 3 tears once again in the same capacity for the San Francisco 49ers.
In 2019, Hafley returned to the college ranks as an assistant Defensive Coordinator for Ohio State. In 2020, he was hired as Head Coach of Boston College and remained there until 2023 where he compiled a 22-26 record with one Bowl Game Victory in the Fenway Bowl. Hafley then once again returned to the NFL as Defensive Coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, where he worked with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, who was VP of Player Personnel with the Packers.
That’s how it all went down, and now we once again start anew, but really, completely anew. This is the first full reset since Stephen Ross has been here, but I’m sure he’s acutely aware of the unrest and dissatisfaction of Miami Dolphins after failing to win a playoff game in over 25 years, the longest such streak in the NFL. I also believe that very late in the process, while Mike McDaniel was still here something clicked during the GM search, perhaps candidates were intimating that they would prefer to hire their own Head Coach, whatever it was that spurred the move, it was the right one. I’ll admit I felt bad for Mike McDaniel because he was kind of hung out to dry, despite the fact that I thought he should have been fired weeks ago.
So, here we are, everything is new and for the moment, happy and serene. Sully and Hafley have an awful lot of work to do. Jeff Hafley has to assemble his coaching staff, his coordinators and assistant coaches. Then together with Sully, they have to evaluate the roster, the cap situation and figure out how they want to make funds available as we are currently over the cap. As Sully mentioned in his interview, he will be making these decisions unilaterally, he will accept input from his staff, but he will ultimately be making all decisions, as he should, and as I have been saying. The GM must have total autonomy to make things work correctly and so there is no ambiguity as to who is responsible for everything. Now that Sully has chosen his Head Coach, Jeff Hafley is now his responsibility.
Not once did I say here that Jeff Hafley was my choice, and if you have a sharp eyes, you’ll notice he was omitted for from the picture gallery of Head Coach candidates in my last article. No mistake that, it was done on purpose because I had hoped that he was going to hire outside of his familiarity so there wouldn’t be that stigma that he hired his buddy, was always going to hire his buddy and the whole search was a sham. I’ll say this, I’m sure Hafley was at the top of his list always, but the Head Coach search wasn’t a sham, and in fact was an excellent experience for a first time to GM to conduct so many interviews, listen to so many different philosophies and ideas from 10 or more candidates. I mean he could interviewed 5 guys and just said let’s call it a day and name Hafley. I believe that he went through the process open minded, and if a candidate impressed him more than Hafley, he would have hired him. Familiarity isn’t always a bad thing, there will definitely be cohesive relationship from the very start, and let’s face it, we need that. I finally feel good about this team, let’s all hope for the best!
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Great article and all MIke, but not one paragraph about his haircut. lol Let’s get this supporting staff in here and see what John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt can do with the roster.
LOL!
Thank you, Mike E.!!!
I’m excited, too. It’s clearly a FRESH start, top to bottom and it’s about fucking time!
LOL.
I was perusing X this morning and my goodness, a lot of Dolphins fans are downright unhappy. “Hafley sucks”, “Another stupid hire”, “Harbaugh, McDermott and Tomlin all available and we pick this jerk”.
I get it, it’s been tough being a fan of this team. Personally, I feel pretty good about it. SB – I was kinda thinking about how you outlined how the Steelers ran the team with Tomlin as HC and thought to myself maybe it will be something close to that here. As long as Sully can bring in the talent, maybe they will help guide Jeff through some of the things that other Head Coaches would prefer to do on their own or without any guidance or assistance.
I don’t think it will be to that extent. Tomlin’s job was basically “vibes” and the Steelers already had like 40 years of precedent in running operations. We are basically starting from scratch with a full on culture shift from the front office.
I think once we start seeing the coordinators get hired, we’ll get a better look at Hafley’s mind.
How do you know Sully didn’t pick the right HC for this job? Lol….
Nobody knows nuthin until we see how things play out
Arm chair GMs…lol. They have an arm chair for a reason…lol.
Mine came with massagers
Krishna,
You mean those professional GMs who get it wrong all the time and get fired constantly? Those professionals who are so much better than a guy sitting in his living room?
Our new GM was selling insurance 20 years ago.
Green Bay’s first rounders the last several years haven’t really been stellar, but JES wasn’t pulling the trigger. Green Bay hasn’t been shy in trading around in the first either.
I’d say there’s a 35% chance that we trade back to gather extra picks to start building out this roster.
nobody can really help the way they feel about things
I say that because I don’t feel very good about this head coach
Regardless of him, having other second interviews lined up, I still feel like he was picked because of familiarity. I could be wrong. That’s how I feel though.
hopefully, as I get to know him more and see the staff that he assembles, he changes my mind. Right now, I’m not feeling like running out and getting season tickets
Rock,
It’s okay. If we can’t find a new QB, it won’t matter who the coach is.
^
I’m on the fence, most here seem on the fence. It’s okay though, we all wanted a change and this is what we got. I won’t judge this new regime in 2026 as they will be rebuilding the roster their way. In 2027, they will have even more picks and money to spend. That’s the year I will judge them.
I am watching Kyle Krabs on locked on dolphins
He is currently talking me off the ledge in pointing out pretty well that the team is doing everything. I have wanted them to do for over a decade and now I just have to be patient because the method I have always advocated for was draft and develop therefore you have to wait for them to develop.
I just need to see who they hire to do the developing
Hopefully they are all great teachers
BBM,
Yep, I’m solidly in the show me state. This organization has to prove they are worth believing in. I’ve seen too much crap to believe they know what they’re doing.
I’m open to being convinced otherwise!
I need to be convinced otherwise as well. I give them a pass in 2026 and 2027 I need to see the vision/some positive results.
sb7mvp says: January 20, 2026 at 12:26 am
BBM, who did you have us picking in the first round?
———–
It varies because I am always trading down. If you mean picking at #11, I would say Caleb Downs if he drops to us. I am on the fence with David Bailey. He’s been labeled a dirty player and may be there at 11. The only other one I may consider there is CB Mansor Delane without trading down.
This is considering Bain and Reese are gone when we pick. Same with Mauigoa, but unless Mauigoa scores well with a relatively high RAS, he won’t be that high on Sully’s Board.
I do seem them taking 2 OL by the end of day 2 of the draft. I will be keeping close tabs on the RAS scores for the OL. I never really let combine #’s impact my mocks but this is something the Packers do and I am sure Sully will also. They like smart and athletic OL.
I could see Sonny Styles being very high on their board. They could trade down about 5 spots and take Styles. He’s big and a freak athlete.
I wonder how a lot of these coordinator and position coach interactions actually go. I mean, halfway has to have an idea at this point of who he wants to go after, right? What if he doesn’t know the guys? But you know a guy who knows the guy Hey Jim I got your number from Bobby Wanted to call to see if you might be interested…
BBM,
I’m fine with building. I don’t want a quick turn around that sacrifices long term growth and stability. I’m not 12. I want a team that is built to last. Continue to build that LOS.
We need to find a QB, but Buffalo just showed us that you still need a pretty good defense to win it all. We just have a lot of building to do. Just like I did with MM, I’ll give these guys the benefit of the doubt, but I need to see it.
100%
With his athletic ability and high grades in run blocking and pass pro, I can see RT Spencer Fano being very high on their list. They could possibly even take him at #11.
Who is going to be the offensive line coach?
what offensive system are they going to run? It is even possible that we keep the same offensive system With a different acolyte of the Shanahan tree. LeFluor’s Staff being of the same system. Harley Doesn’t really have an offensive system being that he has always been a defensive coach.
Hell, we don’t even know if he is going to run the same defensive system that he has coached in the past at this point
Paul and Fanu as book ends for 10 years
That would be solid
Titans expected to hire 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as head coach
We won 7 games last year with half a team and a crash test dummy at QB. A coaching staff and GM worth their salt could get us 3 more wins next year and have a good start at building for the future beyond that.
I am glad that Patrick Paul is turning into a very good pic
Now that we are going to have a right handed quarterback under Center again most likely we need a quality tackle on the blind side and that is already in place
just joking here, but maybe sully can trade him for multiple first round picks over the next few years 😛
sb7,
and what does a 10 wins next year season get us? We’ve been mediocre for decades. 10 wins is basically 1 game over .500. So what? It’s not good. It’s mediocre
We’ve been mediocre because we don’t build the right way. Every time we’ve gotten a little success, Grier and his predecessor has sold out our draft capital and salary cap.
Would you rather this team be worse than we were last year? We can still build this team right and show improvement. We aren’t a team that needs gutted to the studs for renovation
The good thing about Tomlin stepping down instead of being fired is the Steelers still own his rights due to a contract extension. If the Bills want him, the may have to give up their 1st round pick in 2026 and swap their 2027 1st round pick for a later pick.
Looking at Hafley’s time at BC isn’t exactly inspiring. If you thought coaching staff turnover was bad for Miami the last several decades, you’re not going to like Hafley’s coaching history.
The offense he ran was more balanced, not really geared towards airing it out or grinding it out. It was a multiple pro-style, but wasn’t really successful.
His run game was abysmal and the O-line was poor in pass protection. The offense struggled with efficiency and consistency.
Here’s a list of his former staff and where they are now.
Rob Chudzinski Senior Offensive Analyst, Boston College (former Dolphins OC 2018-2019)
Steve Shimko QB Coach, Dallas Cowboys
Darrell Wyatt No current confirmed job (left BC)
Matt Applebaum Left BC staff — no confirmed new job yet (former Dolphins O-line coach 2022)
John McNulty Senior Offensive Assistant, Rutgers
Frank Cignetti Jr. OC at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Notable Player he coached: Zay Flowers
sb7,
Cheering for the Dolphins to win every week is a completely different conversation than how to build a team for long term success. Me wanting to win 17 games every year isn’t what matters.
You and I have different takes on this team’s talent level. I think it’s very, very average. Average teams in the NFL win 10 games all the time. What’s the rush? Build a team/organization that can win 14 games. I’ll sign up for that too.
I’m not sure where we have different takes on this team’s talent. I said we won 7 games with half a team and a crash test dummy at QB.
I also never mentioned anything about rushing it or not building the team properly. I’ve explicitly said the opposite.
It’s like you didn’t read my posts at all
Yeah, I had to watch the long version highlights. Still can’t believe it.
I ordered my hat last night. lol
Good write, Mike. We won’t know for a while whether we selected the right people but it does feel refreshing at the moment.
^
BBM’s No Trade Mock Draft
11. Spencer Fano OT Utah
43. Chris Johnson CB San Diego State
75. Ted Hurst WR Georgia State
87. Brian Parker II OG Duke
90. Dani Dennis-Sutton EDGE Penn State
111. Malachi Lawrence EDGE UCF
149. Sawyer Robertson QB Baylor
227. Mohamed Toure LB Miami (FL)
WR Ted Hurst is starting to grow on me. He’s 6’3, 190 and has run a 4.48 but some say he is faster. Good route runner also.
sb7,
You left out the part about being able to win 3 more games next year if. We beat the yets twice and then we beat up on a bunch of crap teams like the Saints, Commanders and Falcons. We lost to every half-way decent or decent team other than maybe Tampa Bay…and got crushed by a team like Cleveland. There isn’t much of anything I take away from those wins that makes me think we could win 3 more this coming season.
And, winning 10 games next season…whether it makes fans happy or not…probably isn’t the formula for long term success. A high draft pick would that could result in a QB might be.
BBM,
What’s the deal? I thought you weren’t interested in Fano anymore? My head is spinning! Lol
It wasn’t that. I have just wanted more pick so I always trade down. This is also a good draft at RT so I why not trade down and get one and more picks. Just wanted to see how a no trade draft would work out.
BBM,
Aha! I knew you weren’t really in love with Dunker! Lol
I was just messing with you. I’m not really sure there’s much difference between LT/RT anymore. Yeah, you always want your QB’s blindside covered, but teams are bringing pressure from both edges and everywhere these days. Running QBs bring a whole different dimension to it all anyway. Teams also don’t use a strong side TE alignment to run the ball like they used to either.
I think Paul has played well, but I’d have no problem upgrading at OT.
Good write Mike. I guess we’ll see. The bills coach would have been good also.
Listened to Dolphins talk today. Mike had the locked on Packers host as a guest. Really good listen. A detailed explanation on Sullys philosophy when it comes to drafting. I am confident that he was a really good choice as GM. I am kinda optimistic he picked the best choice for head coach. Good write up Mike. Thanks for sharing.