Inside the Hafley-Jimmy Johnson Meeting and Why It Could Prove Valuable

There was a meeting of Miami Dolphins head coaches at Jimmy Johnson's restaurant in Key Largo last weekend

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley speaks during the press conference for minicamp at the Baptist Health Training Complex. | Isabella Frias-Imagn Images

Before his first season as an NFL head coach, Jeff Hafley did what any first-time boss with a Hall of Famer down the road might do: he booked a table, ordered nachos, and quietly extracted as much wisdom as he could. 

The catch? He's keeping most of it for himself.

At his press conference Tuesday ahead of Miami's final OTA session, Hafley clued reporters in on his recent lunch with former Fins head coach Jimmy Johnson at the Big Chill, Johnson's Key Largo restaurant. Former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt — who gave Hafley one of his first major coaching breaks — set the whole thing up, and General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan came along for the ride.

The result? A meeting of the minds between the Dolphins leadership of yesteryear and the men about to embark on one of the biggest challenges the franchise has ever faced. 

"Dave's been huge for me in my career, and he asked me if I wanted to get together with Jimmy and just pick his brain," Hafley said. "We drove out and met him for lunch and just asked him a lot of questions."

Johnson clearly enjoyed the check-in. He posted a photo to X on June 5, calling himself "really impressed with the Dolphins leadership Sullivan & Hafley" — a solid bit of public co-sign from a man who knows a thing or two about a thing or two when it comes to both building a Super Bowl contender from the foundation up and leading the way in Miami Gardens. 

Really impressed with the Dolphins leadership Sullivan & Hafley..nice visit at the Big Chill pic.twitter.com/DK3pnZKxOr

— Jimmy Johnson (@JimmyJohnson) June 5, 2026

First-Year Survival

The most useful thing Hafley said he wanted from Johnson wasn't about X's and O's or the best places to get grilled swordfish in South Florida. It was a perspective on handling adversity during a challenging first year at the helm. 

"I asked him a lot of questions and listened to him about his first go in Dallas," Hafley said. "They had a really rough first year, and then he went on to win his Super Bowls."

Johnson inherited a gutted Cowboys roster in 1989, the same year Dallas used the No. 1 overall pick on Troy Aikman, and went 1–15. From there, Johnson, following some legendary draft jiu-jitsu moves that led to the acquisition of picks that ended up being future Hall of Fame players, led the Cowboys to a 7–9 record in Year 2, a playoff berth in Year 3, and back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993. 

For a coach taking over a Dolphins team with a salary cap on the operating table, one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, and facing one of the toughest schedules in the league, the message is obvious: the first year can get ugly, but ensuring that pain leads to future gains is what's most important. 

Johnson, obviously, also has direct credibility in South Florida. He coached the Dolphins from 1996-99, went 36–28, and reached the playoffs in three of his four seasons. All while replacing a legend in Don Shula. 

The more time he spends in Miami, the more pressure Hafley will come to understand. 

Nacho Business 

Apparently, what happens in the Big Chill stays in the Big Chill, because, naturally, a reporter asked for the single best piece of advice that Johnson gave Hafley over lunch. 

He smiled and said he'd keep those conversations in-house.

"I'm going to share his advice just for him, I, Sully, and Dave," Hafley said. "His advice was to answer that question that way."

There's a coach who already understands that not everything needs to be public, and not every answer to the media's question has to be a long-drawn-out diatribe on a philosophical way of thinking. 

While Hafley was guarded about what Johnson's advice was for how to handle what's on his plate this season, he was much more open about what was on the plates in front of the group as they chatted.  

"He ate nachos," Hafley said of Johnson. "We all ate nachos."

Just dudes being dudes, talking football, sharing a plate of nachos while the ocean breeze pushes napkins off the table. Hafley had to have felt he was far away from Wisconsin in that moment in time. 

Three of Miami's all-time decision-makers, a basket of nachos, and a couple of hours of stories and advice passed around the table. 

If you're scoring the Dolphins' offseason at home, this one feels like a win.