Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley wants De’Von Achane to be ready for ALL the carries
Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley jokes he’s ready to give De’Von Achane ALL the carries this season.
Feed your best football players. The overall concept of how to give yourself a good chance to win football games is simple. But for the Miami Dolphins, it’s going to be an interesting case study.
The Dolphins’ most established offensive weapon is, by far, running back De’Von Achane. He made the Pro Bowl last season and has been sensational as a pro. But how big will his workload be in 2026 amid a new contract and a different head coach & offensive coordinator? Jeff Hafley joined the Rich Eisen show on Monday and joked that he’s prepared to carry Achane off the field after the game, if necessary.
‘I’ll carry you back to the locker room’ — Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley on De’Von Achane’s workload
“I just gave Achane a heads up this morning and told him he better be in good shape because I told him there might be some games where I have to pick him up and carry him back into the locker room because he’s going to be so tired. And I told him I don’t ever want to see one of these head taps all year. And he looked me right in the eye and said, “You’ll never get that head tap from me.” I said, “Don’t worry, buddy. After you touch the ball 40, 45 times, I might have to pick you up and I’ll carry you back into the locker room.” I love the guy.”
— Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley on RB De’Von Achane’s role in 2026
Now, it’s important to note that Jeff Hafley is grinning ear to ear throughout this entire exchange with Eisen — essential context! Hafley would go on to share the Achane is the kind of player who will give it back to him a little bit, signaling a healthy relationship between the Dolphins’ best player and their head coach.
But finding the right balance for Achane’s work will be a challenge this season. The Miami Dolphins didn’t pay De’Von Achane all this money to touch the ball less than he did last season. But Achane is the kind of home run hitter that you probably want to try to maximize his touches. Or, at the very least, manage his workload enough to be assured that he’ll have a good chance to play all season for the Miami Dolphins.
I would suspect Achane gets plenty of run. But consider me filing the 40-45 touches in a game talk as friendly jabbing between a coach and a player. His current career high in a game is 29 in a loss to Buffalo in 2024. So I’ll believe 40 when I see it.
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