Read the full transcript from HC Jeff Hafley 's postgame media availability on September 14, 2026.

Have you gotten any clarity on Kyle Louis's knee, how serious it is?

Jeff Hafley: Not totally. He'll be out this week for sure. Might be a few weeks, don't know how long just yet. But just being honest with you, he will be out for the week.

Did you have a chance to review the JuJu Brents' taunting and make a determination about whether he was at fault and will be fined by you, or do you think the call was not justified?

Jeff Hafley: Well, I'm not going to do any fining. What do you mean me fining him? That would be the league that decides to fine him, not me. I'm not sure I follow you on that one. But I'm not gonna talk anymore about, I'll keep how I feel about that play. I think it's in my best interest to keep my thoughts on that play in my head and leave it there.

When you reviewed the film, what was at the heart of your run defense woes, particularly in the first half, what changed in the second?

Jeff Hafley: I think early on, we kind of dipped our toe in the water and we kind of played things safe. We weren't as downhill; we weren't tearing off blocks. We were just kind of playing things safe. We had some MAs. We had some misalignments and some fronts. We had some miss run fits early on. I think it came – we were just a little tentative and I think we were trying to be too safe. I think as we got going a little bit, we were more downhill, we were tearing off blocks and we were just more physical. But I think your question's fair because as I watched in the second half, I mean, it was impressive how we played against the run. It was really a tale of two halves. So hopefully they got that out of their systems and we build off of it, but there's some coaching there too now. We got to make sure we're lining up in the right spots and that we're seeing things the right way and fitting in the right areas. So we'll get back to work and improve that.

One of the things that I noticed on film was that Chris Johnson's versatility really shined. We had him inside, outside, even defending the deep half at one point. Although it wasn't a perfect game, what were some of the positives that you took away from his performance?

Jeff Hafley: I think Chris, when you watch the tape and you look at the scheme and you don't just point fingers at a guy who you think was at fault, I think there's certainly some plays that Chris wants back. I think Chris showed a lot of flashes and played a solid game. He was good against a run at his nickel position. They tried to attack him early on in the game when they went FSL and he went and made a play. He had a good tackle, he had a good PBU. And on some of those other plays that you saw that everybody wants to say was he responsible for this touchdown or that touchdown? You know, I can tell you on those two plays, his help was not where it was supposed to be and he was playing the leverage he was supposed to be in, and guys on the sideline immediately took ownership for it. He's hard on himself too, because he's the one that it's showing up on. Chris did a lot of good things yesterday and Chris should be confident that he can do a lot of good things in this league. I think with all these rookies that we're playing right now, there's going to be some really good moments and there's going to be some tough moments and then we got to keep building them. Like I said all along, one of the biggest things you're going to consistently hear me say is we got to develop these guys. I don't want them to lose any confidence along the way and I'm really proud of Chris.

I wanted to ask you if you could assess the work of the wide receivers, not so much in terms of the catches and their stats, but in terms of how they were in their route running, being in the right place where they were supposed to be, in terms of blocking for the run game, all that stuff?

Jeff Hafley: I thought there was some really good, and then there's some stuff we need to work on. I mean, there are some shots of Chris Bell blocking down the field, knocking some guys down. Then there were some plays that obviously CD (Caleb Douglas) made which were really impressive, kind of like we saw in training camp and in the preseason games. Then there are some times where it might have been a missed signal or maybe a route was a little bit off. I just think when you have three rookie receivers playing as many snaps as we did, it will continue to be a work in progress. It will continue to be the chemistry that they're building together with Malik. But all in all, I thought there was I thought there were some really good, encouraging moments.

Quick follow-up, if I may. We saw Tucker with a little shoulder thing after he made a tackle near the sideline. How close did it come to where, I guess it was Jacob, who would have been the long snapper. How close did it come to that materializing?

Jeff Hafley: It came pretty close. I mean at one point, that's what was the plan. And I got to give Tucker a lot of credit. I earned a lot of respect, not that I didn't have any, but I gave Tucker a lot of credit and respect for the way that he came out and snapped and played with what he went through. But it was close.

I have a kind of overarching question for you about Malik in the off-structure part of the offense yesterday, kind of what your coaching points were around the way he navigated the pocket, but also the way the receivers and he reacted to plays once they got off schedule?

Jeff Hafley: I think early on there were some really good off-schedule plays where he stepped up, he kept his eyes down the field, and some were actually still in rhythm of the play and the receivers didn't have to go off schedule. And then there was some when he did go off schedule, they adjusted to our scramble rules and they did a really good job, and then there's some that weren't good enough. There's sometimes when we needed a guy to break a certain way and he didn't. Those are things that they'll work out together.

Specifically with the rookies, how do you, I guess, balance keeping guys' confidence up throughout the growing pains of their first year, with also the expectation that you're playing for a reason and we do need you to contribute and produce?

Jeff Hafley: You got to keep coaching them, you got to tell them the truth, and we got to develop these guys. Today when I sit down in the team meeting and I show something that we need to correct, take ownership in it. And if we're not coaching it well enough, take ownership in that and then show the good. Win or lose, that's going to have to happen regardless. I mean, how you treat the game film should not be indicative of the wins or losses. How you treat the game film is you go play by play regardless of the result, and was the process right? Did they execute? Did they line up right? Was their footwork right? Did they do their job the best that they could? And if they didn't, we got to get them better. And if they did, you show them why and you move on. I'm not going to waver and lose confidence and ride this up and down wave; I think having a consistent mindset of growing day by day and play by play is going to be really important for all these guys.

How was the Chop Robinson tape?

Jeff Hafley: Kind of like what I've been saying early on, again I thought he was a little hesitant. And I think if you watch the film, I don't think he set edges as violently at times as he did. And then I thought as the game went on, he got better. We just need him to pick up and then make sure that it's consistent throughout the game. And not just Chop, I just thought that group early on was just a little bit too hesitant and too safe and not as violent and aggressive. And that will be something that we work on this week is we need to start faster there.

And what, if anything, did you learn more about the special teams coverage after diving into the film?

Jeff Hafley: We got to play smarter. We got to play with better fundamentals and technique, and we have to be on our assignments. I think when you get to the special teams part of it, that was a huge part of the game. I mean, just when it's 17 to 13, the start of the third quarter, if you think we come out at halftime – we kick a field goal, half is over, so we get a little momentum going in at halftime. We come out, we get an interception on the first drive, Malik scores, bang, it's 17-13. We have all the momentum in the world within the last two minutes of the first half, the first two minutes of the second half. I mean, that was pretty cool to see our guys come out and do that. And then we get the kickoff run back to the 50-yard line, then that shifts momentum right back. The starting field position, it just wasn't good enough. I think their net starting field position was like the 48-yard line. I mean, it's hard to play football like that, and ours was somewhere on the 30-yard line. So when you look at the punt, you look at those kickoffs, it's kind of like defensive football. If you're supposed to set an edge and keep your outside arm free, you got to set an edge and keep your outside arm free. If our R1 is supposed to be the fold player behind the two player, then set his edge and keep the outside arm free and do that, they can't run up the field. So those guys who are in those positions need to be detailed and they need to execute better than they did, because quite frankly, that's just not good enough.

How did it come about that Jacob Rodriguez turned out to be the backup long snapper? Like what developed for you guys to discover that he had that skill set? And why isn't someone like Andrew Meyer better suited to handle it?

Jeff Hafley: Jacob's done it in the past and he's good at it. It's not like playing center where he's going to be involved in all the protections in the run game. There are certain protection things he has to understand and he's been able to do it, so we're going to put the guy in who can do it the best and that was him.

I don't want to overreact or anything, but Caleb did tie Tyreek for the most receiving yards for a Dolphin in their debut. I'm just curious, what does that say about his future and what was your reaction to that?

Jeff Hafley: I actually found that out this morning and I was proud of him. I think it's a good debut for a rookie and I hope it gives him confidence. But I think just like in terms of your last question, can you do it again next week? Can we get him better and make sure that every play he's in there, he's got consistency, whether it's in the running game blocking, whether it's running the right routes, and just keep working on the little things. But I think it says a lot about him, how hard he's worked. He's got a chance to be a good football player, and I'm glad he's on our team.