The Miami Dolphins are starting to look a lot like Green Bay South - and that’s not just a clever nickname. This offseason, the Dolphins made two major front-office moves that signal a clear connection to the Packers pipeline: hiring Jon-Eric Sullivan, the former VP of player personnel in Green Bay, as their new general manager, and bringing in Jeff Hafley, the Packers’ former defensive coordinator, as head coach.
But the Green Bay ties don’t stop there. Miami also added a former Packers player and a pro scout from the organization. So naturally, when it came time for Hafley to hire an offensive coordinator - someone who’d call plays, given Hafley’s defensive background - it wasn’t out of the question that he might dip back into the Packers’ coaching pool.
Names that surfaced during the search included Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, passing game coordinator Jason Vrable, and quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion, who’s currently serving as an OC at the East-West Shrine Bowl. All three have ties to the offensive system Hafley seems to favor, and all three come from a coaching lineage that values continuity and adaptability.
Now, while Green Bay technically could’ve blocked Stenavich from leaving, that’s not really how head coach Matt LaFleur operates. He was given the chance to leave the Rams - where he was a non-play-calling OC under Sean McVay - to take a play-calling job with the Titans, which ultimately helped launch him into the Packers’ head coaching role. Since then, LaFleur has made a point of paying that opportunity forward.
When Nathaniel Hackett left Green Bay to become a head coach, LaFleur’s first choice to replace him was Luke Getsy. But without a play-calling role to offer, LaFleur let Getsy walk to the Bears, who did have one. That opened the door for Stenavich, who’s now the longest-tenured OC in the league - and someone LaFleur has allowed to interview for other play-calling jobs, including with the Seahawks last offseason.
So, if Hafley had wanted Stenavich, Vrable, or Mannion, odds are he could’ve made it happen. But instead, he went in a slightly different - yet still familiar - direction.
Enter Bobby Slowik.
Yes, that Slowik. Son of Bob Slowik, who coached with the Packers from 2000 to 2004, Bobby has been rising through the ranks of the same coaching tree that’s produced names like LaFleur, McVay, and Kyle Shanahan.
He worked with LaFleur in Washington from 2011 to 2013, then reconnected with Shanahan in San Francisco in 2017. After climbing the ladder with the 49ers, Slowik became the Texans’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024, where he helped guide one of the league’s most promising young offenses.
In 2025, he was in Miami under Mike McDaniel - another Shanahan disciple - serving as the Dolphins’ pass game coordinator. Now, he’s taking the reins of the entire offense under Hafley.
So while Hafley didn’t raid his old team for coaching talent on the offensive side, that doesn’t mean he’s done building his staff - or that the Packers’ coaching tree won’t bear more fruit in South Florida.
One position still up for grabs is the defensive coordinator role. Hafley, who will be calling plays on defense, hasn’t yet named someone to fill the non-play-calling DC spot - but there are a few familiar names who could be in the mix.
Green Bay has two assistants with NFL defensive coordinator experience: DeMarcus Covington, who serves as the team’s defensive line coach and run game coordinator, and Derrick Ansley, the pass game coordinator. Either could be a fit if Hafley’s looking for experience and familiarity with pro-level schemes.
There’s also Sean Duggan, who was promoted to linebackers coach in Green Bay this year after the Jaguars hired Anthony Campanile as their defensive coordinator. Duggan has deep ties to Hafley - he was Hafley’s first linebackers coach at Boston College and later became co-defensive coordinator after Tem Lukabu left for the NFL.
Speaking of Lukabu, he’s now working under Campanile in Jacksonville as the linebackers coach. That makes him another potential option for Hafley’s Miami staff - someone who knows his system inside and out and has already made the jump to the NFL.
So while the Dolphins haven’t gone full Packers just yet, the connections are undeniable - and the coaching carousel might not be done spinning.