Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley recently shared what identity that he wants his team to embody.

“What I tried to bring to Green Bay was a play style on defense that we were going to play harder and more physical and more violent than everybody that we played,” Hafley said March 30 during the NFL’s annual league meeting. “That’s what I wanted to add to the Green Bay Packers, and I think for the most part, if you turned on our tape, we played pretty hard. I want our whole team here in Miami to play with that same mind-set. This isn’t just about me coaching the defense now, this is about the culture of every person that touches that field, that’s what I want it to look like

The question then becomes how exactly can one implement this physicality and violence within the confines of Phase 1 of the offseason program, a period that began Tuesday for the Dolphins and primarily allows for strength and conditioning as well as physical rehabilitation yet limited on-field work.

“I think the physicality part on the field, I mean that really can’t come [until] the pads are on and that will come in training camp,” Hafley said. “I think the mental toughness, I think the strain in the meeting rooms, the strain in the weight room, the running piece of it; I think that all builds to a level of toughness, right? It’s not just about being physically tough on the field, it’s the mental toughness to show up on time every single day and lock in, work in the meeting rooms and take notes and be alert.”

That Hafley mentioned timeliness not once but twice cannot be overlooked, especially in this organization. It was just a little more than a year ago during the Mike McDaniel era that reports surfaced surrounding players consistently being late to meetings. To Hafley, that’s unacceptable.

“Show up on time and give everything you have every single day,” Hafley replied when asked how players can make a good first impression on him. “I mean, that’s kind of how I view everything. It’s process-driven to the point where there really is no endgame result right now. It’s show up, do everything you can every single day and do the best you can at it, whether that’s in the weight room, whether that’s in a meeting room. That’s got to be in everything that you do. I just want everyone’s best and maximum effort and a great attitude. Control what you can control.”

As is NFL protocol with all new head coach hires, the Dolphins and nine other teams started their offseason program two weeks earlier than the rest. These next few weeks will be important. It’s no mistake that Hafley said Tuesday felt like “the first day of school” with him “setting expectations, going over rules, talking to them about the culture, the foundation” — as the coach continues to learn his team.

Then and only then will Hafley begin to change the cosmetics of the locker room, doing things like putting up motivational signage and what not.

“I want to get a feel for who we are,” Hafley said. “I want to get a feel for who we have, then I want to do that. And also as we develop our culture and figure out who these guys are, I also wanted to build around that. I’m very big on building around the guys that we have and will have rather than just being cookie cutter, saying, ‘These are my three sayings and throw them on the wall.’ I want to be able to get a good feel for this, spend a lot of time thinking through it, and then once training camp hits, that’s what we’re going with. But each year is different. Each team is different.”

Herein also lies another feature of the Hafley era: adaptability. He discussed it in reference to how he builds coverages. He discussed it in reference to his base defense. And, most recently, he discussed it in reference to why he intends to relay certain messages to his team.

“When you play football, I think it’s our job to maximize our players talents,” Hafley said, later adding that it’s “bad coaching” if he puts his players in areas that they aren’t equipped to handle. “I can tell you right now what I want the identity of our team to be. I’ll tell you when training camp is done who we really are, or else it’s just a bunch of coach talk, and I’m full of it up here. I’m not just going to throw out a bunch of phrases and lingo; that’s just not me. I want to find out who this team is, and I want to match that with who we become so it’s real, and I’m not saying one thing and we’re playing like another thing.”