Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is the betting favorite to be the next head coach of the Dolphins, and he’ll be in Miami for another interview next week.
Hafley has scheduled an in-person interview with the Dolphins, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It will be his second interview with the Dolphins.
New Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was the Packers’ vice president of player personnel before the Dolphins hired him last week, and Sullivan and Hafley were in Green Bay together for two years. Hafley and Sullivan are believed to have the kind of good working relationship teams want their GM and head coach to have.
The 46-year-old Hafley was the head coach at Boston College from 2020 to 2023 before resigning to become the Packers’ defensive coordinator. He went 22-26 at Boston College.
The Buccaneers completed an interview with former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, the team announced Friday.
The meeting took place in person at the team’s training facility.
The Bucs fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard after one season.
McDaniel was the Dolphins’ head coach from 2022-25 after previously serving as an offensive coordinator on Kyle Shanahan’s staff with the 49ers. He was Miami’s offensive play-caller during his tenure as head coach.
During those four combined seasons, the Dolphins ranked eighth in the NFL in both net yards per game (348.0) and passing yards per game (232.8), while also recording the sixth-best yards per carry average (4.54) and the 12th-most points scored per game (23.3).
McDaniel has had interviews for head coaching vacancies with the Falcons, Browns, Titans and Ravens. The Lions have interviewed him for their offensive coordinator position.
The Buccaneers have interviewed six other candidates for their offensive coordinator position. The team previously met with Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka, former Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork and Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will take a break from preparing for the Bears to interview for head coaching jobs on Friday.
Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Shula will have virtual interviews with the Steelers, Ravens and Dolphins. Shula has gotten requests from other teams as well, but those are the only interviews currently on the docket.
Shula was installed as the early betting favorite for the job in Pittsburgh, but Steelers owner Art Rooney II said this week that he expects the process to find Mike Tomlin’s successor to take weeks so there’s a lot left to play out.
In-person interviews with currently employed coaches who are no longer in the playoffs can start after the divisional round, but Shula and other Rams assistants will have to wait longer if they are able to come up with a win in Chicago on Sunday.
Dolphins tight end Darren Waller thinks quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s struggles may be more psychological than physical, all stemming from the concerns he has about the brain injuries he has suffered throughout his career.
Waller said on Johnny Manziel’s podcast that when he saw Tagovailoa throw the ball in practice, he was amazed by how good a passer he is. But Waller thinks that in game action, Tagovailoa has something holding him back, perhaps stemming from the multiple concussions that have caused him to miss nine games in his career.
“I’m watching this man throw darts every practice. It was just like, ‘What the fuck am I watching?’ I had never seen the anticipation and the accuracy out there. From my standpoint, the skill set for him is still there,” Waller said. “What I think some of the disconnect comes from, seeing it translate, I think there could be some trauma still stored in his body from what he’s gone through with the head injuries.”
Waller mentioned that he has read the bestselling book The Body Keeps the Score about the effects of psychological trauma, and he said he sees in Tagovailoa some of the traits of people who are still struggling after going through traumatic experiences.
“I can notice him trying to make things happen in the game, he’s trying to pull the trigger, but it’s like his body, his system, won’t let him do it,” he said. “I think if there’s a way for him to find some healing in that regard, I think the skill set is still there.”
Despite his disappointing play, Tagovailoa’s $54 million guaranteed pay for 2026 means he’s highly likely to be back with the Dolphins. And the Dolphins need to hope that Tagovailoa can overcome whatever it is that is holding him back from being the quarterback that Waller saw on the practice field, but not in games.
The Dolphins completed interviews with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Thursday, the team announced.
Every team with an opening has requested to interview Minter, and Saleh is also a candidate for the Titans, Ravens and Cardinals’ jobs.
Minter became the Chargers’ defensive coordinator in 2024, following Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan. Minter was the defensive coordinator for two seasons in Ann Arbor.
He has also worked at Vanderbilt, Georgia State, Indiana State, Cincinnati and Notre Dame on the collegiate level, and Minter was with the Ravens from 2017-20.
Saleh is in his second stint as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, rejoining the staff before this season. He previously served in that role from 2017-20 before becoming the Jets’ head coach.
Saleh has also spent time with the Jaguars, Seahawks and Texans.
The Dolphins also have completed interviews with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and and former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. They have requested Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
