The Dolphins announced Monday that Jeff Hafley will serve as the 12th head coach in franchise history. Hafley most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, who hired him away from his post as head coach at Boston College.
Hafley has climbed the ranks at both the collegiate and professional level. He has coached some of the game's all-time greats, rising to leadership positions via a track record of teaching, scheme innovation and player development.
Here are five things to know about the new head football coach of your Miami Dolphins.
1. Developing a top defense in Green Bay
In 2023, the Packers ranked 17th in the NFL in total defense. In 2024, they hired Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator, and in his first year back in the NFL, Hafley led the Packers to the fifth-best total defensive ranking (314.5 yards allowed per game) and the sixth-best scoring defense in the league (19.9 points allowed per game). Green Bay finished fourth in takeaways (31) and third in rushing yards per attempt (4.0).
Hafley was tasked with getting a group of newcomers on the same page. Free agent signing safety Xavier McKinney brought in eight interceptions on the season, the second most in the NFL. Meanwhile, three rookies made their presence felt as safety Evan Wiliams, safety Javon Bullard and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper all exceeded 400 snaps and combined for more than 200 tackles. Linebacker Isaiah McDuffie went from nine career starts to being an every-game starter with 94 tackles, while the 2022 first-round picks, linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, both had their best seasons.
The 2025 Packers came out of the gates red hot allowing only 44 points across the first three games and an NFL season-high in quarterback pressures (33) in their Week 2 win over Washington, according to Pro Football Focus.
Injuries to several key players slowed production, but the Packers defense still finished in the top half of the league in total defense (311.8 yards per game) and points allowed (21.2 per game).
"Jeff has had success at every stop of his coaching career with an impressive track record of developing players at every level," Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur said in 2024 when Hafley joined his staff in Green Bay.
2. The vision
Following Monday's announcement, General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan had this to say about the new Dolphins head coach:
"Jeff is a man of integrity, intellect and great passion who players will buy into and play for," Sullivan said. "He has a vision for the kind of team we will be and the ability to motivate them to move in one direction on the path towards that goal. I'm thrilled to go on this journey with him and together we will build a winner that this organization deserves."
3. College accomplishments
Prior to becoming the head coach at Boston College, Hafley spent the 2019 season as co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Ohio State. Current Panthers safety Jordan Fuller, who played on that 2019 Buckeyes defense, told The Athletic Hafley's nickname was 'The Wizard.'
"I think his superpower is his mind and how he sees the game and how he understands the game," Fuller said. "His in-game adjustments and him having us ready for certain looks that offenses would give us and stuff like that, it really felt like he gave us a winning edge."
Player testimonials were backed by the results. That Ohio State defense went from No. 72 in the country in yards allowed per play in 2018 to No. 1 under Hafley in 2019.
Then it was off to BC, where Hafley led the Eagles to bowl eligibility in three of his four seasons. Boston College also scored its first win over an AP-ranked opponent since 2016 when they beat No. 16 North Carolina State in 2022. Hafley's reach extended beyond the headset at Boston College. He produced some of the best recruiting classes in school history, including the 2020 class, which tied Boston College's highest-ranked recruiting class ever.
4. Impressive pupil list
One of Hafley's earliest jobs came at the University of Pittsburgh. He took over as defensive backs coach after two years as an assistant. Dave Wannstedt, the head coach at Pitt at the time, recognized Hafley’s passion for teaching the game right away.
"If we would have a 7:30 staff meeting, I'm in the office around 6, and I'd hear voices," Wannstedt said. "He's got our freshmen and all the young defensive backs in a meeting at 6:30 in the morning. There's nobody in the building, coaches are just coming in and Jeff's in there having a player meeting. I said to myself, 'This guy gets it.'"
Wannstedt liked his new staff assistant so much that he put him in charge of the room in which future Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Revis got his start. Revis was a 2006 Jim Thorpe Award finalist and future first-round pick in the NFL Draft.
After stops in Tampa Bay and Cleveland as a defensive backs coach, Hafley assumed the same role and added co-defensive coordinator duties with the San Francisco 49ers where he'd coach another future Hall of Fame cornerback in Richard Sherman.
"I think 'Haf' is a great coach that focuses on the details. Always has a great plan and adjustments," Sherman said. "His team will see the looks they will see on Sundays throughout the week because of the time he puts in studying and understanding offenses."
5. The scheme
The hallmark of a stingy modern day NFL defense is the ability to disguise both front and coverage while generating pressure through variety. Those pillars happen to be hallmarks of Hafley's defense. Hafley's time in San Francisco overlapped with former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Hafley adopted Saleh's four-down-lineman, single-high-safety approach and took it to Boston College and was asked to adapt again upon returning to the NFL.
Hafley's first-year product in Green Bay proved LaFleur right in the decision. LaFleur never worked with Saleh, but parts of his coaching tree did, and he entrusted Hafley to effectively deploy the scheme in Green Bay. Just like McKinney did in his first year with Hafley, Micah Parsons was named AP First-Team All-Pro in his first year with Hafley and was on pace for a career high in sacks before suffering a season-ending injury 14 games into the season.
Hafley's scheme will reflect the talent he has. His track record of identifying talent, infusing new talent, developing talent and adjusting with the times are all feathers in the cap of the Dolphins new head coach.
For more on Hafley, Sullivan, and the Dolphins busy offseason, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
