Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley sits down with 7’s Josh Moser to discuss first year outlook

Following his official introduction alongside new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, Jeff Hafley sat down with 7Sports’ Josh Moser to discuss what fans can expect in his first year as head coach, a positive conversation with Tua Tagovailoa and his desire to pour everything into making the Dolphins winners.

Hafley was signed to a 5-year deal shortly after the Dolphins’ 2025 season came to a disappointing end. With the Dolphins still in search of their first playoff win since 2000, fans are desperate to see a shift in the right direction.

During a sit-down interview with 7’s Josh Moser, Hafley explained his approach to bring the Dolphins back into playoff contention, describing his desire to bring long-lasting success to Miami, which could require time to create the building blocks.

“There was a clear connection with our vision and the ownership’s vision and [Sullivan’s] vision. At the same time, I wanna win everything that I do,” said Hafley. “Certainly, we want to do it as quickly as possible, but I think that goes into how we want to build it. Do we want instant success, which might cause failure down the road or do we want sustained success, which requires a lot of hard work, building it the right way, where [Sullivan] and I can dive into this thing with no shortcuts.”

Over the course of the Dolphins’ 2025 season, many fans called for then-coach Mike McDaniel to bench quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after he faced numerous struggles with passing accuracy and mobility throughout the year. Tagovailoa was ultimately benched for the final three games.

It’s the question on every Fins fans’ mind, what the team’s plan will be at the quarterback position with so much money invested in Tagovailoa after he signed a four-year, $212.4 million extension in July 2024.

Hafley said he’s had positive conversations with the Dolphins quarterback, mostly sticking to getting to know Tagovailoa like he has been doing with other players in the weeks since his hiring.

“We just talked about family, kind of like I’ve done with all these guys, you know. He was in the Bahamas at the time, he was with his wife and and with his kids, and it was really more about how his family was doing, how he’s doing, how he’s doing physically, how he’s doing mentally. We really didn’t even get into the football part of it. I just – I want to get to know these guys first on a deeper level than talking about, ‘Hey, what’s my role,'” said Hafley.

Prior to joining Miami, Hafley spent the last two season with the Green Bay Packers as a defensive coordinator, where he helped lead the team to a top-10 ranked defensive unit over both years. Hafley has never served as head coach in the NFL.

Although he hasn’t been an NFL head coach, he’s had plenty of experience at the collegiate and professional level, serving as the head coach of Boston College before joining the Packers and as a defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2016-2018.

Hafley told 7Sports his ability to connect with his players and staff will give him an edge. He also highlighted that he had other offers available to him, but it was ultimately the Dolphins circumstances that piqued his interest and motivated him to come to Miami to build a championship contender.

“I think just how much I care about people and how I’ll do anything for people and how tight I’m gonna be with this team. I don’t think that you can see that on paper and I don’t think people will see how much we’ll pour into this and how much I’ll pour into this and really pour into the people and how much I really want to be here, I mean again, there were other opportunities but I chose the Miami Dolphins,” said Hafley. “And I think that is important for people to understand.”

Hafley’s coaching plans took a small hit after Nathaniel Hackett, the Fins’ quarterbacks coach, reportedly accepted an offer to become the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, Wednesday afternoon.