New Dolphins regime will have multiple chances to prove itself in 2026
Take a look at the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 schedule and one thing stands out.
The rivalries.
From the Week 4 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings to the Week 15 trip to Green Bay to face the Packers, the Dolphins will have several opportunities to prove that the regime change was the right decision.
Let’s start in Week 4. On the surface, the Vikings and Dolphins have no beef.
Dig a bit deeper into the coaching chart, and you will see a familiar name: Brian Flores.
Now the defensive coordinator for the Vikings, Flores coached the Dolphins from 2019 to 2021, accumulating a record of 24-25.
The Vikings, however, have been rather impressive on the defense ball with Flores at the helm. In 2025, the team ranked third in total defensive yards allowed, seventh in points and 10th in takeaways.
Both Flores and new Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley are defensive masterminds, so hopefully this will be a quite the chess match.
Fast-forward to Week 13 and another contentious matchup reveals itself, this time on offense.
Remember when the Dolphins initially signed quarterback Malik Willis and the offense actually had a proven weapon on the outside by the name of Jaylen Waddle?
That lasted all but six days when the Dolphins shipped Waddle and a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick.
“It was unfortunate for sure, to say the least,” Willis said after the move. “That’s a really good player, and I would have loved to play with him, but that’s above my pay grade brother. Out of my hands.”
To say Waddle won’t want revenge on the Dolphins would be an understatement. Sure, the Dolphins shipped him off to avoid the huge payday on the horizon, yet that doesn’t mean he didn’t take it personally.
“It’s definitely new beginnings,” Waddle said in his opening news conference. “I don’t look at it as that standpoint of getting back to where I was. I just look at it as a new opportunity to go out there with a new team in a great place, play along great talent and help out as best I can.”
Then there’s the Packers in Week 15.
Hafley, of course, came from Green Bay — as did Willis, general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and even defensive coordinator Sean Duggan.
Think this game doesn’t matter to them?
Guess again.
“We do come to Lambeau — hopefully Week 1,” Hafley quipped at the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting, later joking that he was hoping to avoid edge rusher Micah Parsons, who’s currently recovering from a torn ACL.“There’s a lot of reasons. There’s a couple that I can think of. One of my favorite guys might not be ready to play by then, too. Micah, I hope you’re ready to play Week 1, I really do.”
Last but certainly not least there’s a Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers which will mark Mike McDaniel’s return to Miami.
The Dolphins and McDaniel, who now serves as the offensive coordinator for the Chargers, parted ways after the 2025 season. He spent four years with Miami, where he became one of three coaches to start their Dolphins career with back-to-back winning seasons. Unfortunately, the winning ways didn’t last long as McDaniel went 15-19 over his final two seasons that led to his ousting.
With these budding rivalries on the schedule on top of the six AFC East matchups, the Dolphins will have a lot to play for in 2026.
