The Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears on Saturday as the NFL’s Wild Card weekend kicked off. With the loss, Chicago advanced to the Divisional round while the Packers head into the offseason. It also opened the door for Packers assistant coaches to be poached by teams looking for a new head coach.
The Miami Dolphins are looking for a new head coach. On Saturday, they requested an interview with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The Las Vegas Raiders also requested an interview with Hafley.
Hafley started his coaching career in 2001 as the running backs coach at Worcester Polytechnic. He shifted over to the defensive side of the ball in 2002 when he moved to the University of Albany. After several more college roles, he joined the NFL in 2012 as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, moving up to the defensive backs coach the next year. In 2014, he moved to the Cleveland Browns, spending two seasons as the team’s defensive backs coach before taking the same job with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
In 2019, Hafley moved back to the college ranks, serving as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Ohio State for a year before a four-year stint as the head coach at Boston College. He joined the Packers as their defensive coordinator in 2024.
The Dolphins fired former head coach Mike McDaniel on January 8, then hired their new general manager, former Packers Vice President of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, the next day.
Sullivan and Hafley have obvious ties from their shared time together in Green Bay.
Miami has completed an interview with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. They have also requested an interview with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and reached out to former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. The Dolphins are also expected to interview former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator/former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
After being fired by the Jets during the 2024 season, Saleh spent the remainder of the year as an offensive consultant with the Packers – potentially providing a tie to new GM Sullivan.
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