The hiring of Jeff Hafley as the Miami Dolphins head coach was the first logical step in rebuilding a culture that has escaped Stephen Ross since the day he bought the franchise. It's a song Dolphins fans are tired of hearing.
Miami has tried to become tougher and more disciplined under the guise that it would change the culture. It hasn't. Losing is losing, no matter how tough or soft your team is.
New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan has an idea of what it takes to build a culture. He may not succeed, but his hiring of Hafley indicates he is convinced of what needs to happen, but there is something else this time around. It's a statement not just to the coaches and players, but also a huge message to Stephen Ross.
The #Dolphins have zeroed in on #Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach, per me and @TomPelissero.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2026
The two sides need to do a deal, and they are motivated to do so. One of most coveted candidates. pic.twitter.com/yNc26tytW8
Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan look to build something the Miami Dolphins haven't had in more than two decades
With the hiring of Hafley, Sullivan is sending a direct message to Ross as well as Tom Garfinkel, Nat Moore, Dan Marino, and even the owner-to-be, Dan Sillman. The message? Culture change starts at the top. It's not an ideal, it's an action. Sullivan is telling fans that he wants to build the right culture, but he is also sending his new boss a clear message as well.
"When you fall into the trap of bringing guys in from all over the place, there is no standard. Everyone is coming from a different standard. When you are raised in one place together, your agenda is the same. "Jon-Eric Sullivan
Culture is everything.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 17, 2026
Exclusive sit down interview with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan dropping tomorrow 🎥 pic.twitter.com/jslPORrhHZ
It's hard to imagine the Dolphins succeeding. Fans want to believe; they want to hype themselves up for change, but there has been so much change over the last 20 years that they are not buying into what is being sold. Not anymore.
Sullivan, however, wants to take a road that Chris Grier only talked about, but couldn't deliver. If Miami is going to have success, Sullivan has to do what Grier could not.
Under Grier, the Dolphins' identity would be tied to their head coach's experience from other clubs they had worked for. The Dolphins hoped they could bring that same success. Flores couldn't, Adam Gase couldn't bring his success from Denver, and Joe Philbin's experience with the Packers did not help him at all in Miami. No one was on the same page because they were not on the same page with the front office.
There is a difference, though. This time around, the GM is an outsider too, and the head coach is from the same organization. It's not one guy trying to build it out; it's two. Grier's biggest problem was a simple one that Ross couldn't see. He, too, was part of a front office culture that only knew what it was like to lose.
Sullivan's explanation of building a culture makes more sense than anything Dolphins fans have heard in the 19 years of Stephen Ross' ownership. It starts with the draft, not because you build a roster from younger players, but you build the identity and the culture as well.
Dolphins fans know all too well that saying "culture change" is a lot easier than actually making it happen. If the culture is to change, there has to be more than just winning as the philosophical base. Grier and Ross believed that winning would be the catalyst for changing the culture. 2023 saw a lot of winning, and it didn't change anything. Why? Because the front office didn't change.