Miami

Dolphins

Weaver is suddenly a popular name among teams looking to fill head coaching jobs in the coming days and weeks. Weaver, Miami’s defensive coordinator over the past two seasons, has talked to the Ravens and Steelers about their head coaching vacancies and will now enter the fray as Buffalo’s potential top guy after the team fired Sean McDermott. The Bills are also interviewing former Giants head coach Brian Daboll and Jaguars OC Grant Udinsky. Weaver’s Miami defense over the past two seasons has given up the league’s ninth highest EPA per play and seventh highest offensive success rate.

Sullivan said the goal in the coming years is to put together a roster of players who can win in Buffalo, New York, and New England in the second half of the season. The Dolphins, practicing and living in Miami, have traditionally been a miserable cold-weather team, leading to a number of late-season collapses going back to the Marino era. Sullivan’s comments echo newly hired head coach Jeff Sullivan, who reportedly wants to ditch the team’s emphasis on speed for size and physicality. “Our division runs through Buffalo and New England and New York, cold-weather places,” Sullivan said. “There’s a saying in our business, fast gets slow but big doesn’t get small. We’re not going to sacrifice speed and explosion and skill for a bunch of big stiff guys, but we’re going to have substance to us at all levels of our team. At corner, at receiver, at running back, and certainly up front. It starts with the quarterback, and then we’ll build this team from the inside out. We’ve got to be dominant on the offensive line, dominant on the defensive line.”

Wolfe said the Dolphins under Hafley will transition from a roster predicated on speed to one based on size and toughness. The team will also look to emulate the Packers in drafting and developing players instead of making splash signings in free agency, Wolfe said. Hafley, 46, who served as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator over the past two seasons, will look to revamp a Miami defense that last year allowed the NFL’s second highest drop back success rate and the ninth highest rushing success rate. Look for the Dolphins to invest heavily in defensive players in the 2026 NFL Draft.

This news comes via NFL Network’s The Insiders, as Hafley is expected to sign a deal to become the next head coach of the Dolphins in the very near future. Ian Rapoport notes that while a deal still needs to be worked out, Hafley and the Dolphins are highly motivated to get a deal done. The move to Miami will reunite Hafley with new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, who worked with Hafley in Green Bay over the last two seasons. Hafley re-joined the NFL ranks in 2024 after spending five seasons in the college ranks, and helped lead the Packers defense to top-12 finishes in both of his seasons. He’ll now look to round out his first coaching staff in the coming days as he prepares to lead a Dolphins team that finished 7-10 last season while ranking 24th or worst in scoring on both sides of the ball.

The Dolphins are the first team to meet with Graham as a potential head coaching fit this cycle. The long-time defensive coordinator was in the same role with the Dolphins during the 2019 season, but has spent the last four seasons as the Raiders’ defensive coordinator despite the team going through three head coaching changes over that span. Graham’s defense allowed the fourth-lowest yards per carry on the ground last season, but ranked 25th in points allowed and 14th in total yards allowed. Graham becomes the eighth coach to interview with the Fins for their head coach opening. We’ll see if he’s one of the few called back for a second interview in the coming days.

The Dolphins were the first team to interview Sheppard this coaching cycle. The first-year defensive coordinator saw his defense rank 22nd in points allowed and 18th in yards allowed in his first year at the helm, but the Lions again dealt with several injuries on the defensive side of the ball.

Weaver now has second interviews scheduled with both the Ravens and Steelers, and is scheduled to meet with the Ravens on Tuesday. Weaver spent four seasons with the Ravens as a player from 2002 to 2005, and also worked under John Harbaugh from 2021 to 2023. He’s received several head coaching interviews in recent years since joining the coaching ranks, and could finally be on the verge of securing his first head-coaching gig this coaching cycle.

Weaver is also reportedly being targeted by new Giants head coach John Harbaugh to fill his defensive coordinator vacancy, but the long-time coach will continue to field interviews for head-coaching openings for the time being. Weaver has already met with the Ravens for their head-coaching vacancy, but the Steelers are the first time interested in giving him a second look. Weaver’s name has floated around a future head coach for the last several seasons. His Dolphins regressed in 2025 after finishing as a top-10 defensive unit the previous season, but with seven head coaching jobs still on the table, it wouldn’t be surprising if Weaver landed his first gig this offseason.

After a two-year stint with the Texans from 2023 to 2024, PFF Bobby spent last season as the Dolphins’ passing game coordinator. Slowik burst on the scene with the Texans in 2023, leading the team to a 13th-ranked finish in points while also finishing 12th in total yards. He was fired following the 2024 season after the offense took a major step back and CJ Stroud regressed in his sophomore season, but Slowik is yet another branch of the Shanahan coaching tree, and should eventually earn another look as an offensive coordinator after some time off. The Eagles are the first team to request an interview, but it wouldn’t be surprising if more teams followed suit in the coming days.

Brady has now met with the Dolphins and Raiders and was briefly on the Falcons’ list of candidates before they went out and hired Kevin Stefanski. In his two full seasons as the Bills’ OC, Brady led the Bills’ offense to two top-five scoring seasons, along with two top-10 finishes in total yards.