Jeff Hafley isn’t wasting any time reshaping the Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff-and he’s starting with some familiar faces. The former Boston College head coach, now leading the Dolphins, has begun pulling from his Green Bay ties, with Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard reportedly set to join him in Miami.
While Downard’s exact role with the Dolphins hasn’t been confirmed, there’s a real possibility he could step into the defensive coordinator spot-though Hafley may still handle play-calling duties himself. What’s clear is that Hafley trusts Downard’s football acumen, and this move signals the start of what could be a broader coaching migration from Green Bay to South Florida.
Downard has quietly built a solid résumé over the years. He’s been with the Packers since 2018, initially arriving as a quality control coach under then-defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
That connection wasn’t random-Downard had previously worked under Pettine with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 and 2015. After a couple of seasons coaching in the college ranks at Bowling Green, he reunited with Pettine in Green Bay.
From there, Downard steadily climbed the ladder. He was promoted to assistant defensive backs coach in 2019, then took over the safeties in 2022 when the Packers divided responsibilities between safeties and cornerbacks. In 2023, he became the full defensive backs coach under Joe Barry, a role he held through Hafley’s brief stint with the Packers in 2024.
Now, Hafley’s tapping into that shared history as he builds out his Dolphins staff.
Green Bay, meanwhile, finds itself with a key vacancy on the defensive side of the ball. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will need to fill Downard’s spot, and one name to keep an eye on is Derrick Ansley.
Ansley has served as the Packers’ defensive passing game coordinator for the past two seasons and brings extensive experience coaching defensive backs both in the NFL and at the college level. He’s a logical candidate to step up, though the Packers could also look outside the organization.
And Downard might not be the only coach packing his bags for Miami. Sean Duggan, the Packers’ linebackers coach, could also be on the move.
Duggan and Hafley go way back-they’ve worked together consistently since 2019, when Hafley was co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. If Hafley is looking to recreate the defensive chemistry he had in Columbus and Green Bay, Duggan would be a natural addition.
This is just the start of the Dolphins’ offseason transformation under Hafley, but the early moves are telling. He’s leaning on trusted lieutenants, building a staff that speaks his language, and aiming to install a defensive identity that mirrors the aggressive, detail-oriented approach he’s known for. For the Packers, it’s a time of transition-and potentially more changes to come.