Dolphins hire former Ohio State, Packers assistant as new DC

Recently, the Miami Dolphins made headlines by hiring Jeff Hafley to be their new head coach, weeks after parting ways with Mike McDaniel. Still, numerous vacancies exist on the Dolphins’ coaching staff as they look to bounce back in the 2026 season.

On Sunday, the team filled one of them.

“The Dolphins are expected to hire Sean Duggan as their defensive coordinator, per sources,” reported NFL insider Tom Pelissero on X, formerly Twitter. “A former Boston College linebacker, Duggan coached with Jeff Hafley at Ohio State, BC and Green Bay. Now, at age 32, Duggan becomes Hafley’s DC in Miami.”

With this move, Hafley is continuing the trend of various former Packers staffers following him to Miami, which has become an increasingly common theme with new coaching hires in recent seasons around the NFL.

The Packers had a solid defense in the years that Hafley and Duggan were on the staff, and the tandem will hope to bring that success down south to Miami, where the Dolphins haven’t exactly been lighting it up on that side of the ball in recent seasons.

Last year, the Dolphins’ defense ranked 22nd in total yards allowed per game, with 348.8, and they also allowed 50 touchdowns on the season.

Of course, Miami’s questions don’t stop on the defensive side of the ball, as the team also has to figure out what it wants to do about the quarterback position moving forward. Last year, starter Tua Tagovailoa suffered through arguably the worst season of his professional career before ultimately being benched down the stretch of the campaign, and Miami doesn’t have a clear option to replace him at the current juncture.

In any case, the Dolphins may look to get their answer in a couple of months, when they will be picking at number 11 in the upcoming NFL Draft, which is slated to get underway in late April from Pittsburgh.

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