The Miami Dolphins announced Monday that Jeff Hafley will serve as the 12th head coach in franchise history. Hafley has more than two decades of coaching experience, working his way up the college ranks and into the NFL. He was most recently the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers and previously the head coach at Boston College.
The NFL media landscape is weighing in on the Dolphins new head coach.
SI's Albert Breer noted Hafley's ability to build relationships and reach players while identifying and developing talent.
"[What] you're going to see with Jeff Hafley is his ability to reach people. That's going to be a really important piece of his program… He's got a way of building relationships with people, he's got a way of reaching people, he's got a good eye for talent and a good ability to develop..."
ESPN's Dan Orlovsky had this to say on X:
"Happy for Hafley man. Really good coach and a really great human"
Industry expert and insider Andrew Brandt added on his X account:
"Knew there was no chance he'd be back with the Packers. Too good."
NFL Insider Dan Graziano highlighted Hafley's reputation as a strong player developer on ESPN.com:
"But he earned a lot of praise inside and outside the Packers' building for what he did during his time there, and his reputation as a college head coach was that of a strong player developer. Players like Zay Flowers and Donovan Ezeiruaku are among those who developed into high NFL draft picks during their time at BC while Hafley was there."
FoxSports.com had high praise for Miami's new head coach as the site reported the news:
"The Miami Dolphins have landed one of the top head coach candidates in this coaching carousel cycle."
ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero were among the first to break the news.
Hafley has been known as a coach that is able to reach his players, develop them and make an impact, a sentiment that has been vocalized by several of his former players throughout the years.
Logan Ryan, who Hafley coached at Rutgers, credited him earlier this season for "saving" his career and making a difference in they way he developed as a player.
Former All Pro Cornerback Richard Sherman, who played for Hafley in San Francisco, has praised his preparation:
Panthers safety Jordan Fuller played for Hafley at Ohio State and had this to say about his former college coach on this 2019 Cleveland.com article:
"Nothing but positive vibes about Coach Hafley," Fuller said. "He's a coach that cares. He's somebody that's so knowledgeable. He has an answer for every question you have. "It's just a different vibe and a different scheme as well," Fuller said. "So that's what I like, guys are having fun. Guys are playing with swagger, confident."
For more analysis on Jeff Hafley, and the entire Dolphins 2026 offseason, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
