The Miami Dolphins have agreed to hire former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach. The Dolphins announced the decision Monday night, confirming multiple reports.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hafley will sign a five-year contract with the Dolphins. Further terms of the contract were not immediately reported.

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Hafley is Miami’s third head coach since 2021, and the reported move reunites him with the Packers’ former vice president of player personnel, Jon-Eric Sullivan, whom the Dolphins hired as general manager earlier this month.

The Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel on Jan. 8 as the Dolphins’ late surge was not enough to keep McDaniel for another season. After starting this past season 1-6, the Dolphins won six of their last nine games this to finish 7-10.

Despite the club’s improvement, team owner Stephen Ross decided it was time for a change. Before being fired, McDaniel was the first Miami head coach to last four full seasons since Ross became majority owner in 2009. The team parted ways with general manager Chris Grier last October.

Hafley has served as the Packers’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Before coaching with the Packers, he was the head coach at Boston College. Hafley posted a 22–26 overall record, a 12–22 ACC record, and led the Eagles to two bowl games.

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Hafley also served as Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator in 2019. He spent most of his early career as a defensive backs coach, including stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rutgers, the University of Pittsburgh and the University at Albany.

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Sullivan’s and Hafley’s first order of business could be deciding what the future looks like for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Despite being healthy for most of the season, Tagovailoa struggled last season. His 15 interceptions were the second most in the NFL, behind only the Las Vegas Raiders’ Geno Smith. Tagovailoa was also benched for seventh-round rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers in Week 16. Ewers went 1-2 as a starter, throwing for 622 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

After the season, Tagovailoa said it would be great to get a fresh start, but the Dolphins will have a difficult time moving on from him. Tagovailoa has a $56 million salary cap hit in 2026, and on March 15, $3 million more of his 2027 salary becomes guaranteed. Cutting him outright would result in $99 million in dead money.

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Despite their challenges, running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle give Sullivan, Hafley, and whoever starts at quarterback for the Dolphins a lot to work with in 2026.