Say hello to the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Jeff Hafley

Welcome to ‘Packers South’, Dolphins fans!

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer

Jan 19, 2026 5:06 PM EST

Welcome to Packers South! The Miami Dolphins made one major commitment to Green Bay’s rich history when they hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan during the first week of the offseason. Now, less than two weeks later, the roots that tie back to the Green Bay Packers organization are growing even stronger.

The Dolphins’ leadership group, including Sullivan, has reportedly made its choice at head coach. Miami is replacing Mike McDaniel with Packers defensive coordinator and former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley, per reports.

Miami Dolphins choose Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their next head coach

Hafley comes to the Dolphins after two seasons as the defensive coordinator in Green Bay. He’s widely applauded as a strong communicator and teacher; his coaching outlook, dating back to his time at Boston College, clearly aligns with the mentality general manager Sullivan hopes to instill through his process in Miami.

Consider this quote from Hafley during an interview just before he left Boston College to return to the NFL and join the Packers:

“When I got here, my vision when I took this job before the (transfer) portal, and NIL hit was: I wanted to bring in guys and develop them, and hopefully keep them (at Boston College) for the fifth year. So by the time my guys are the fifth-year, those fifth-year guys are developed, they know the scheme, there’s culture. I believe in the power of the team,” Hafley said in the interview.

Now cross-reference that school of thought to this quote from Sullivan in his introductory interview with the team.

“We’re going to draft and develop and retain our own. It’s important to us that we raise our own because that’s culture, right? We don’t want a team full of mercenaries, that creates problems on multiple levels,” explained Sullivan.

It doesn’t take much creativity to see the joint belief in time on task, the importance of player development, and the need for both to create the kind of organization that can contend consistently.

The irony, of course, is that Hafley left Boston College after just four seasons and the team’s second bowl win since Matt Ryan was playing quarterback. Ballooning NIL budgets and a transfer portal gone wild sank the NCAA into chaos, prompting Hafley to choose the more stable waters of the NFL business. Former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien took over upon Hafley’s departure and, with Hafley’s roster, went 7-6 in 2024 before sinking to 2-10 in 2025.

Welcome to Packers South, indeed. The Dolphins have looked across the NFL landscape and targeted a prime personnel evaluator as the face of this new regime. Hafley will serve as the bridge between the players, the front office, and the public alike — giving Miami a fresh face and voice to fall behind as the Dolphins try something different.

Yes, they’ve hired a Packers coordinator before. But this one actually calls plays. He was also a head coach before — it’s likely safe to assume he can have an uncomfortable conversation much easier than Joe Philbin ever did.

In a major way, the vast majority of fans have gotten exactly what they asked for at the beginning of the offseason. With head coach Mike McDaniel in limbo, fans called for Miami to hire a general manager and then decide the fate of the head coach. Miami may have dismissed McDaniel before formally hiring Sullivan, but if you believe the feedback in the interviews had nothing to do with the call, I’ve got some great beachfront property in Nebraska to sell you. Or maybe it’s Wisconsin, now that I think of it.

The Dolphins did pick a general manager. They did let him decide McDaniel’s fate. And now, they’ve let him pick the partner he’ll work hand in hand with to breathe life into the Dolphins’ football operation. Let’s see what they’ve got.