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Miami Dolphins Announce Shocking Head Coaching Hire

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Miami Dolphins helmet. The team has hired Jeff Hafley.
Miami Dolphins helmet (Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images)

The Green Bay Packers’ 2025 season may have ended in disastrous fashion, but that didn’t stop Jeff Hafley from getting his first NFL head coaching gig.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Miami Dolphins are hiring Jeff Hafley as their new head coach. Hafley spent the last two seasons as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator under Matt LaFleur.

The Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel after four seasons last week, following two straight losing and non-playoff seasons. After interviewing a long list of candidates, including Robert Saleh, Jesse Winter and Joe Brady, Miami decided to go with Hafley.

In 2012, Miami hired then-Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as their head coach. The Dolphins went a disappointing 24-28-0 under Philbin, but they’ll hope for better success with a second former Packers’ assistant leading the way.

With Miami filling its HC vacancy, there are now seven positions to be filled. The Buffalo Bills opened up another by unexpectedly firing beloved head coach Sean McDermott on Monday morning.

Jeff Hafley Is A Fascinating Hire By Miami

Jeff Hafley (Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

In today’s NFL, teams usually go with a young, offensive-minded coach. So, the Dolphins’ decision to go with Jeff Hafley here is a bit surprising.

Remember, they’re widely expected to move on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the offseason. So, Hafley will be tasked with fixing a Miami team that lacks game-changing talent on both sides of the ball.

Hafley was the head coach at Boston College from 2020 to 2023, going 22-26-0. The Packers then brought him in as their DC, finishing with the league’s sixth-best scoring defense in 2024. The unit was off to a scorching start before Micah Parsons’ unfortunate season-ending injury that derailed their season.

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