Beyond John Harbaugh, new Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley might’ve been the hottest coaching candidate of 2026’s cycle. Almost every team with an opening interviewed him and every franchise who did wanted him back. That apparently includes the Pittsburgh Steelers.
During Hafley’s introductory press conference Thursday, Hafley referenced the league-wide attention he received.
“I went on a lot of Zooms,” Hafley told reporters via the team’s YouTube channel. “I went on six Zooms. I had six teams call me right after to try to set up a flight to go out there. Most know those teams just by reading through it.”
Hafley interviewed for six teams: the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Steelers, and of course, Dolphins. He impressed enough to want all six to have face-to-face interviews.
Ultimately, he only had one. With Miami, where he agreed to a five-year contract and reunite with new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, who worked with Hafley the past two seasons in Green Bay.
“I chose to come [to Miami] first…those conversations led me to want to be here,” Hafley said of his talks with ownership and the rest of the Dolphins’ brass.
Reports previously noted the Falcons and Titans planned to speak to him again. But Atlanta pulled out of the running after hiring Kevin Stefanski. Tennessee never got the chance for that second interview. Hafley stayed in Miami instead of flying out the next day to Nashville.
Until Hafley’s words, there was no report that Pittsburgh wanted a second interview. His comment clearly implies they did. With a diverse background of being an assistant, coordinator, college head coach and working at every level, it’s no surprise teams were apparently “blown away” by his interview and wanted to hear more.
Hafley is among two second candidates the Steelers initially interviewed but was hired elsewhere. Jesse Minter took the job with the Baltimore Ravens yesterday. Like Hafley, Minter did not have a second interview with Pittsburgh.
It would be unfair to say the Steelers “lost” Hafley. Who knows if he would’ve been their choice, but there’s good reason to believe he would’ve been a frontrunner. Though hailing from New Jersey, he worked for the Pitt Panthers for five years and his wife’s family is from the city. It would’ve provided good incentive to put down roots. Instead, the one thing the Steelers lost was a second chance, and Hafley was clearly convinced by the chance to lead Miami to its first playoff win since 2000.