‘About his business.’ What impression has coach Jeff Hafley made on the Dolphins?
The Miami Dolphins have only been around Jeff Hafley a week.
And already, the reviews of the new coach have been rather positive.
“Coach Haf is dialed [in],” tight end Greg Dulcich said. “He’s got high standards and I think that’s what you want especially when you get a new coach. Everyone has so far bought in, and the challenge is living up to that standard every single week.”
When the Dolphins made the move to poach the then-Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator, one of the aspects that stood out about Hafley was his ability to connect with players. That plus his unique view of how to run a defense made him an exceptional candidate.
In addition to his enthusiasm and knowledge, it also helped that Hafley had spent some time at the winningest organization in the NFL.
“He comes from a winning culture in Green Bay, but we’re trying to find our own identity here with the Miami Dolphins,” defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. said. “I’m not going to say it’s going to be the same, but we’re going to go out there and do what we have to do and try to find our standard.”
Added Johnson: “He knows what it takes to win. He got the formula that he’s presenting for us to win. We just got to go out there and execute.”
That the word standard was consistently brought up in discussion should come as no surprise. Hafley emphasized as much for the majority of the offseason.
“You set a standard, which I’ve talked to you guys about as a shared vision that we agree upon, and then it’s our job as coaches and my job as head coach to make sure that everybody is doing everything they can and being held accountable as they try to strive towards that standard that were setting,” Hafley said on the opening day of the offseason program, later identifying accountability as a “really important” core belief. ”I think over time and experience, you’re in hopes that the players start holding each other accountable.”
That accountability piece will be critical as Hafley starts to establish his culture. With the amount of young players – the Dolphins have 11 round picks in the upcoming draft – that will don the aqua and orange in 2026, it will be up to the veterans to set an example. And while the past regime did have good leadership at times, it can also be argued that the wrong players were empowered in 2024, the season that everything began to fall apart for then-coach Mike McDaniel and staff.
“There are guys that I have in my head that I’m hopeful, and there are guys that I think in time we can guide to be there, but you’d love to see that organically happen and not be forced upon, so that’s what I’m excited to see as well,” Hafley said when asked about team leaders. “A lot of times I’ve heard in the past in my coaching experiences, ‘We don’t have any leaders around here. We don’t have any leadership,’ I don’t buy that. I think you can help develop guys into becoming leaders and show them the right way, in their own way, how to become good leaders.”
Guys such as Johnson, who has seven years and six teams of NFL experience under his belt, then become key.
“Setting the standard,” Johnson said when asked about his role around the rookies. Letting the guys know that this is the way the new Miami Dolphins are going to be.”
As general manger Jon-Eric Sullivan said at the annual NFL Owner’s League Meeting, nobody’s spot — especially in the secondary and on the edge — is guaranteed. It’s a message that prioritizes the opportunity that guys such as Johnson and David Ojabo have before them, something that has been communicated within the organization from the top down. “He’s about his business,” Ojabo said. “He says you show me better than you can tell me. He even came in and said, for him, he’s not about to tell us what he’s about; he’s about to show us.”
And while Hafley already gave a guide as to how a player can make a strong impression on him, there’s also another way: the ability to balance a strong handle of the details with fast-paced play.
“So far it’s been about detail,” Dulcich said, encapsulating one of Hafley’s messages as “detailed speed.” “We want to make sure that we’re a detailed team, and we’re doing all the little things right. It’s not a matter of only being detailed because you can go through things really slowly and be very meticulous, but we got to play football fast.”
For now, it would appear that the players like their new coach. Ojabo even called him a “cool guy.“ Whether they can keep the same high-level of engagement through the NFL season, however, will be the ultimate hallmark of Hafley’s tenure.
“It’s easy to do the first week,” Dulcich continued. “He’s always going to bring the juice. I can already tell. So it’s on us to feed off of that.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 2:51 PM.
