There have been many positives surrounding the Miami Dolphins' hiring of Jeff Hafley. There have been quite a few negatives as well. At this stage, nothing really matters until we see him on the practice field, and then how he handles the actual games.
Most in the mainstream media have thrown good vibes Miami's way since the hire was made official. So has Ian Rapoport, who believes the Hafley coach is a good hire, but he really likes the Jon-Eric Sullivan addition as well.
Ian Rapoport talks Dolphins at Super Bowl LX ‼️👀
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“I think Hafley is going to be really good. Jon-Eric Sullivan is a really, really respected personnel man.” pic.twitter.com/BKvJCYr2Qq
Ian Rapoport believes the Miami Dolphins made the best decision they could with their changes
Rapoport said he thinks Hafley is going to be good in Miami. He said that while he is a good person, he is also a good leader. That is something that has been a problem for the Dolphins for a decade.
"I like the new regime. Hafley is going to be really good. Jon-Eric Sullivan is a really, really respected personnel man. I really like the pairing. I think it's going to be really good. "Ian Rapoport
The best thing Ross could have done was go outside the organization. He is relying on the experience and education that Sullivan brings to the team. Rapoport knows this from his years covering the NFL.
Hafley is interesting. On the surface, he seems like a middle ground between Mike McDaniel and Brian Flores. He is a no-nonsense kind of coach who can also relate well with the players in today's NFL. Flores was far too disciplined at times. That rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. McDaniel was far too lenient, which led to disciplinary issues.
Somewhere in between, Hafley is sitting. Miami hasn't had a strong head coach that embodies both sides of the fence since Tony Sparano. He was hard on the players, but also communicated with them well. That wasn't the case with Joe Philbin, who was far too aloof. It was far worse under Adam Gase, whose ego was hard to reel in.
Will Hafley and Sullivan work out? That's the million-dollar question. If they do, Ross will finally vanquish the ghosts of his previous hires, but ultimately this regime will be judged not by the number of wins between September and early January, but by the number of wins they can get in the playoffs.