The Miami Dolphins are entering the 2026 NFL season with a new face in charge, and Jeff Hafley brings a very specific kind of energy to the job.
Hafley, the franchise’s 15th head coach, arrived in South Florida on January 19 after the Dolphins fired Mike McDaniel. He signed a five-year contract and comes to Miami after serving as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
For the Dolphins, the first thing to know is that Hafley has done the head-coaching thing before. He spent four seasons running Boston College from 2020 through 2023, going 22-26 and getting the Eagles into a bowl game in three of those years.
Before that, and alongside that path, he built a long coaching résumé that includes stops at Ohio State, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Albany and Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic, plus NFL work with the Packers, 49ers, Browns and Bucs.
His recent calling card is what he did in Green Bay. Hafley inherited a struggling defense and turned it into a top-5 unit in total defense in 2024, then a top-12 defense in 2025. That is the version of him Miami is betting on.
The Dolphins have already gotten a taste of how he wants things done. In a club video released last spring, Hafley was pushing urgency.
And at one offseason practice, he was seen trying to violently knock the ball away from a Dolphins player while wearing a large pad on one arm. He is not hiding behind a headset and clipboard type.
He also made his role crystal clear from the jump: Hafley will call the defensive plays himself. Those signals will come from the sideline, not the press box, and that approach was in place during the three preseason games.
So what should Miami’s defense look like under him? Expect pressure, and plenty of it, with creative blitzing mixed in.
Green Bay ranked 7th in the NFL in pressures last season. Discipline should matter too, since the Packers were 8th in fewest penalties in the league in 2026.
And don’t be surprised to see a lot of rotation, especially in the secondary, where Hafley may lean on movement and deception to create confusion for opposing offenses. That could matter a lot with such a young defensive backs room.
Away from football, Hafley has a Jersey soundtrack in his head. He is from New Jersey and admits Bruce Springsteen has been part of the deal for a long time.
“When you’re in Jersey, you’re, like, born with a Bruce Springsteen cassette tape when you’re my age,” says Hafley, 47.
He also described what growing up there meant to him.
“Growing up in Jersey, I think there’s a toughness,” Hafley says. “I think there’s somewhat of an underdog mentality. I think people look at Jersey a certain way from the outside, and I think the people in Jersey kind of stick together and think it’s the greatest place in the whole world.”
Miami opens the regular season at the Las Vegas Raiders, and the full 2026 schedule has a tough stretch waiting right away. After the opener on Sept. 13 at 4:25 p.m. on Fox, the Dolphins go to San Francisco on Sept. 20, then host Kansas City on Sept.
- They also have games at Minnesota, at the Jets, at Buffalo, at Denver, and at Green Bay later in the year, with home dates against New England, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, the Chargers and Buffalo.
The season ends with a trip to New England.
In Other News...
Dolphins Fans Are Sending A Clear Message During This Reset
The Dolphins are heading into a reset that could make 2026 a bumpy season, with the salary cap, roster, coaching staff and front office all in flux. FanDuel Sportsbook has their win total pegged in a narrow range between 3.5 and 4.5, which speaks to how thin the margin is for a team trying to rebuild while still keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
Even so, Miami fans have not turned sour on the direction of the franchise. In SB Nation Reacts polling, roughly 79-80% of Dolphins supporters have said the team is headed the right way, and that feeling has held steady from preseason into the regular season. For a fan base staring at a difficult stretch, that kind of patience stands out, especially with confidence in AFC East rivals running higher for Buffalo and New England and lower for the Jets. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Loss Exposed Problems Miami Fans Were Hoping Not To See
The Dolphins 2026 opener in Las Vegas did not take long to reveal the kinds of issues Miami was hoping would stay buried until deeper into the season. In a 27-13 loss to the Raiders, the defense never found a steady answer for the home offense, the pass rush lacked bite, and special teams gave up too much ground on return plays. Miami did manage to show a little life with a second-half touchdown drive, but the broader picture was one of a team that spent too much of the afternoon chasing the game.
For a fan base that wanted cleaner tackling and more stability in the kicking game, the early returns were hard to ignore. Missed tackles showed up alongside the coverage problems, and the Raiders were able to build comfortable field position far too often. The Dolphins have only one game on the books, but the opener already put a spotlight on the same areas that can change the tone of a season quickly if they are not cleaned up. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Loss Exposed Two Early Problems Fans Already Feared
The Week 1 loss to the Raiders did not just leave the Dolphins with an 0-1 record, it also quickly put two familiar concerns back in focus. Miami fell 27-13, and while there were a few bright spots in the individual evaluations, especially from rookie linebacker Rodriguez and receiver Douglas, the bigger story was how often the offense struggled to find any rhythm around them.
Malik Willis had a difficult outing, but the issues were not limited to one player. The offensive line drew criticism for both pass protection and run blocking, problems that showed up throughout the game and helped drag down the entire operation. For a team trying to establish itself early, the performance served as an unwelcome reminder that some of the questions from the offseason are still waiting for answers. [Read more 🡒]