Miami Dolphins fans are growing tired of the offseason hype every time a new head coach is announced. Jeff Hafley's arrival is no different. It's nothing against Hafley; it's just the simple fact that we have all been through this before. Sure, this one feels different, but they all have felt different...until they weren't.
Once again, the Dolphins are trying to sell the fanbase a new head coach with the right tools to get the job done. It's a canned response, a rinse-repeat-rinse-repeat method. To be fair, Ross isn't writing his own statements; he is just signing off on them.
On Monday, the Dolphins announced they had hired Mike McDaniel's replacement, and then released a statement from the owner that won't exactly convince fans to call to purchase season tickets.
Welcome to Miami, Coach Hafley. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/99GEPZXf48
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 20, 2026
Miami Dolphins fans have been down this road before, and it still hasn't been repaved
In 2022, Ross and Chris Grier spoke about the hiring of Mike McDaniel. If the Dolphins' statement on Hafley sounds familiar, it's because they have said most of this before.
"I'm very excited to have Mike as our new head coach," Ross said. "It's clear he is an out-of-the-box thinker, and he takes a different approach to problem-solving. He's a leader, innovator, and collaborator.""Stephen Ross on Mike McDaniel
"He is a smart, innovative football mind, but he is much more than that. He excels in developing people, consistently bringing out the best in his players. "Chris Grier on Mike McDaniel
Again, it's a road traveled often under Ross' ownership. Unlike McDaniel, this hire is growing on me quickly. Not because Ross released a statement, but because there is an outside voice, a direction that takes the team away from internal management. As much as this is the same, it's really not, but that doesn't mean fans are blindly diving into the same tank.
Adam Gase was the "genius" offensive guru that Ross couldn't pass up. He was that offseason's hottest name during the hiring cycle. Fans were blowing up social media. He flamed out. Brian Flores was going to bring the "Patriot Way" to the Dolphins, so much so that Ross and minority owner Bruce Beal tested the theory by trying to cheat. Like Bill Belichick in New England, they got caught.
Four years later, Flores was out, and Mike McDaniel was on a plane talking on a phone about how you cannot be excited. He, too, is gone.
Jon-Eric Sullivan had no other real choice for a head coach. The two share the same mindset of what works and what doesn't. There will be little or no friction between the two of them. Of course, history with the Dolphins includes Bill Parcells' time with Miami.
Parcells hired Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano from the Cowboys. A shared united vision of what Parcells wanted to build. It didn't work out and inevitably severed a friendship. Is this different? Yes, as a matter of fact, it is.
Sullivan has made it clear that he is the boss. He will deliver the players, and Hafley will have a voice, but unlike Chris Grier, there will be no caving in on his convictions to appease the head coach. Grier's biggest problem was not that he listened to others; it was the fact that he didn't stick to his guns more often than he should have. That includes Stephen Ross.
The addition of Hafley isn't the problem. He and Sullivan will work well together. It is the right move for Sullivan to hire Hafley, and the coach will have the unwavering support from the GM. The Dolphins are the ones who have to change how they conduct their business internally.
If Sullivan and Hafley can't at the very least change the culture of the franchise, then something else is preventing that from happening. Welcome to the Dolphins, Jeff Hafley!