The Miami Dolphins introduced former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as the team’s new head coach and former Packers personnel executive Jon-Eric Sullivan as the team’s new general manager on Thursday.
Both Hafley and Sullivan reflected on their experience with the Packers during their introductory press conference.
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Hafley spent only two seasons with the Packers, serving the 2024 and 2025 season as the team’s defensive coordinator under Matt LaFleur. He said the Dolphins hiring Sullivan, who spent over two decades in personnel with the Packers was a “huge part of why I wanted to come here.” Sullivan said he had “conviction” on Hafley during the interview process.
Both Hafley and Sullivan got emotional reflecting on their time in Green Bay.
“I want to thank Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers,” Hafley said. “The last two years have been two of the best of my life. He’s a great football coach. He’s a great friend. He’s going to have continued great success. I also want to thank those players there. In two years, we really got close. I mean really close. The love, the connection, the support. It was hard to say goodbye to those guys but the phone calls and texts, you guys, have meant everything to me. I love you. I wish you the best other than when we come to Lambeau next year.”
The Packers host the Dolphins during the regular season in 2026.
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Sullivan was a scout, director of college scouting and vice president of personnel in Green Bay under general managers Ted Thompson and Brian Gutekunst.
“To the Packers organization, I was very, very, very lucky to land where I landed 22 years ago,” Sullivan said. “I was very lucky to be mentored by some of the best in the business. Phenomenal people who happened to be excellent at what they did in their profession. I was very fortunate to be entrenched in a process, a proven process that has brought 30 years of sustained success to that place. And that others have left and have gone on to have success in the National Football League.”
Sullivan expressed a specific thank you to Mark Hatley, Ted Thompson, Brian Gutekunst, Mark Murphy and Ed Policy.
Hatley, the franchise’s former vice president of football operations, hired Sullivan in 2004.
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He called Thompson one of the “best to ever do it” as general manager.
“He trusted the process. More importantly, he trusted the process through times of adversity. He never wavered,” Sullivan said.
“He always, always did what was best for the team.”
Sullivan said Gutekunst taught him “preparation, preparation, preparation” as the leader of a 365-day roster-building job.
“His belief and faith in me, I can never repay him for. I’m grateful for the relationship. He’s one of the best in the business.”
On following the Packers way, Sullivan said the Dolphins will “build through the draft” and “retain our own players” while being “selective” in free agency. He also plans to “invest” in quarterback every year if possible. Hafley said he is expecting to call plays on defense for the Dolphins.
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This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Hafley, Sullivan reflect on time with Packers during Dolphins introductory presser