Years after deciding to leave his role as the head coach of Boston College, Jeff Hafley is now set to take over an NFL team.
Multiple reports have shared that the Miami Dolphins are set to make Hafley their new head coach. As our own Zach Barnett points out, Hafley will be the 8th straight Dolphins pick at head coach that will be a first-time NFL head coach. The organization's last hire with prior head coaching experience was Dave Wannstedt, who took the Dolphins to their last divisional round.
Hafley had spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
Before joining the Packers, Hafley had spent four seasons leading the Boston College program. In three of his four seasons at the helm, he led the Eagles to finishes right around the .500 mark (6-5, 6-6 and 7-6) with the lone outlier year being a 3-9 finish during the 2022 season. In four seasons, he put together a record of 22-26 overall with a 12-22 mark in ACC play.
Hafley landed the opportunity to lead the proud program on Chesnut Hill after serving as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ohio State during the 2019 season.
Prior to his time in Columbus, Hafley had spent a number of seasons in the NFL With the Tampa Bay Bucs, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers where he tutored defensive backs.
Jeremy Fowler shares Miami decision makers were set on not allowing Hafley out of the building without getting a deal done today after his interview earlier today. He joins newly minterd general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who the Dolphins hired to replace longtime GM Chris Grier this month. Sullivan and Hafley spent two seasons together working alongside each other in Green Bay
In his two seasons leading the Packers defense, Hafley has led a unit that ranked among the top ten in the league in yards allowed per game, yards per play, and points allowed per game. That kind of impact ensured Hafley was sought after for other head coaching jobs around the league as well.
In Miami, he takes over for offensive-minded Mike McDaniel, who went 35-33 in four seasons leading the franchise.
The list of coaches who received interview requests from the Dolphins illustrated the front office's desire to look on the defensive side of the ball after McDaniels' tenure, with coaches like Anthony Campanile (Jags DC), Patrick Graham (Raiders DC), Jesse Minter (Chargers DC), Robert Saleh (49ers DC), Kelvin Sheppard (Lions DC) and Chris Shula (Rams DC) swamping the few offensive coordinators who were among the interview requests.
Hafley's hire will mark the third NFL head coaching hire of the cycle, and after the Bill decided to part ways with Sean McDermott earlier today, the total number of NFL changes hit double-digits at ten.
The other filled jobs around the NFL include former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh now leading the Giants and former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski landing the Falcons head coaching opportunity.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.