How Hafley is Hoping to Add This New Element to the Offense

Jeff Hafley is making his mark on the Miami Dolphins, but is hoping to find some new elements to add to his offense.

Jun 2, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley smiles during the press conference for mini camp at Baptist Health Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Isabella Frias-Imagn Images | Isabella Frias-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins’ offense is going to have a lot of different influences for the 2026 season. Malik Willis undoubtedly will talk about some things he learned from Matt LaFleur in Green Bay that he wants to implement.

Bobby Slowik had success in Houston as offensive coordinator of the Texans. Kevin Patullo spent a lot of time in Philadelphia with Jalen Hurts as well.

Furthermore, Jeff Hafley has had experience on what he has found the most difficult play to stop during his time as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Could that combination lead to a new package infiltrating Miami in short-yardage situations?

Short yardage has led to issues in Miami in recent years. Tua Tagovailoa’s health issues led to reluctance to use him in the run game. As good as De’Von Achane is, he’s not a power runner.

So what do the Dolphins do in those situations now with a new regime?

“Oh, that's a good question," Hafley said before minicamp practice Thursday. "Because usually I'm looking at it from the opposite side of the ball. I think it's tricky right now. I think it's where you are on the field. When I think of third down and short yardage, third and one, especially third and one, it's where are you on the field. I think if you're, if you're on the minus side of the field, a lot of the times you still have the option to run your, you know, your, your big people got to get the yard, you know, less inclined to throw the ball than you are if you get close to the 50 on the plus side of the field, when your playbooks kind of opened up, because there's a good chance you're going to go forward on fourth down, so now you're treating third and one like fourth and one.

“We're on the minus side of the field, third and one is third and one, so it depends. I mean, I'd have to study what they did here in the past, but a lot of teams will get in the bigger personnel groupings and run the ball and try to get you downhill.”

How to Get Downhill

There is certainly a new way to get downhill that one member of Miami’s coaching staff has plenty of experience in.

When Jalen Hurts took hold of the starting quarterback job in Philadelphia, the Eagles took advantage of his unique skill set. Hurts has a strong lower body, and lined up behind an offensive line that was massive.

The Eagles’ quarterback sneak play that became known as the "tush push" made its way through the league, even to the point where it was nearly made illegal following the 2024 NFL season.

This offseason, there was no vote to ban the play, and it appears the tush push is here to stay in the NFL. Regardless of how anyone feels about the play, if it’s going to be legal, a team should use it to their advantage. Jeff Hafley agreed with that sentiment.

“It's hard to stop, so get good at it and do it," Hafley said. "I mean, it's really hard to stop, so as long as it's a legal play, we need to figure out on defense a way to stop it, and with a quarterback like we have with Malik and some big guys up front, maybe we can get good at it.”

Willis has not had an opportunity to get good at running the tush push. When Willis was in Green Bay, he ran for 261 yards on 42 carries. None of those yards came from the tush push, as the Packers would use tight end Tucker Kraft for their version of the play.

The Dolphins should have an opportunity to get good at it and emulate some of what the Eagles were able to do over the years with Willis playing the role of Hurts, and running behind the Dolphins’ massive offensive line.

If you remove center Aaron Brewer from consideration, every Dolphins offensive lineman weighs more than 320 pounds. Kadyn Proctor, who is set to play left guard, has tipped the scales at more than 350 pounds.

Combine that now with Willis’ sheer size at the quarterback position, as he weighs in at 225 pounds, there is plenty of room to imagine the Dolphins being able to re-create some of the success that Hurts and the Eagles have had over the last four years.

There are other options on how to move the ball, and sometimes teams try to catch others by surprise. Typically, the more options the offense has, the better off they are.

“A lot of teams on third and one will get the quarterback under center. If teams get in the sneak defense, and they'll try to get you on a perimeter play. So, there's a lot of cat and mouse that goes into that, and that we have to think about a lot of the times. Do we want to call something that he comes out under center and get into a sneak front, because the quarterback's just going to get up to the line of scrimmage and sneak the ball, and if he sees the two guys in the A gaps, is he going to try to get something on the perimeter? But short yardage has become tricky, especially on the plus side of the field, because it's more like second one, and teams are taking shots, so we can't be as aggressive on defense. So stay out of third and fourth and one on defense, and try to get into it on offense,” Hafley said.

With an offensive line that has the size the Dolphins have, being able to move people has to become part of the identity. That’s where the Eagles excelled, getting to two Supers Bowls in the last four years.

That’s not to say the Dolphins need to use the tush push on every short-yardage situation, but power and toughness are attributes that grow from excelling when the team needs to gain a yard late in the game.

At this stage of the offseason, it sounds like something the coaching staff is considering.