The Miami Dolphins have hired Jeff Hafley as their next head coach. It’s an interesting turn of events, given the candidates available. Nevertheless, he lands in Miami to replace Mike McDaniel and try to turn around a franchise in one of the worst situations in the NFL.
There were 10 total openings this year, with only a handful of legitimately intriguing candidates to fill those vacancies. That probably contributed to the Dolphins’ choice, but there’s also a good chance that stronger candidates didn’t want the Miami job. There’s a good reason for that.
Miami Dolphins go opposite direction with Jeff Hafley hire
The Miami Dolphins seem to go in opposite directions when things don’t work out. They had Brian Flores as their head coach, and when things got a little stale there, and he had some issues with QB Tua Tagovailoa, they parted ways. In his place, they went with a polar opposite: the geeky, offensive-minded Mike McDaniel.
Now that McDaniel is out, the Dolphins have swung back around. Flores is probably the best defensive-minded head coaching candidate this cycle, but there’s zero chance the Dolphins could get him back. There were other names, like Jesse Minter or Chris Shula, that fans may have wanted.
Firing McDaniel and hiring Hafley doesn’t exactly seem like the most inspiring set of choices for the Dolphins. Still, Miami is trying something wholly new and pivoting into a new era with a totally different sort of coach.
“I believe great things are ahead for the Miami Dolphins with Jeff Hafley leading the way,” Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross said in a statement obtained by ESPN. “Jeff is an accomplished coach with a proven track record as a leader and motivator. He has tenacity and grit, while at the same time establishing trust with his players in order to get the most out of them.”
There is also a risk in taking a defensive coach whose defense struggled without Micah Parsons. The Green Bay Packers were 9-3-1 before Parsons went down, and they literally did not win another game. Losing someone like Parsons is a tough blow, and losing isn’t surprising.
However, the Dolphins don’t have a guy like Parsons. Their best players are on offense. It is difficult to envision Hafley having tremendous success on defense without a star like that since he struggled a bit in the wake of the injury.
What makes the Dolphins job so difficult to take on
Ultimately, Jeff Hafley is walking into a really difficult job. The Miami Dolphins play in a division with the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots. The Bills have Josh Allen and will have a new coach, so one can predict with a minor degree of certainty that they will be better than before.
The Patriots have Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel and appear poised to really take control. That’s two legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the Dolphins’ division. Plus, the New York Jets have ample picks to rebuild with in the future, so they might also become a threat.
The Dolphins also have to tear it down first. They have to decide what to do with Tua Tagovailoa, and they have to figure out who stays and who goes from the current roster. Moving on from Tagovailoa will be incredibly hard and probably very costly.
Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Sieler, Bradley Chubb, and others make a lot of money and probably won’t be around for what Hafley will try to build. It’s a tough situation to walk into, and it’s Hafley’s first head coaching job. Sometimes, all anyone gets is one chance, and this is a very hard one to envision quick success in.
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