Dolphins Request Cowboys Permission, Roster Addition

New head coach Jeff Hafley has begun the process of putting together his staff

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is shown before their game against the Houston Texans Sunday, October 20, 2024 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley and new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan will conduct their introductory press conference Thursday, and before and after that takes place work has begun on putting together Hafley's coaching staff.

One step in that direction came Wednesday when the Dolphins requested permission from the Dallas Cowboys to interview assistant special teams coordinator Carlos Polk for their coordinator opening, according to ESPN reporter Todd Archer.

Polk, a former linebacker at Nebraska for the San Diego Chargers, has been an assistant special teams coach since he began his NFL coaching career with the Chargers in 2012. Polk has never coached for the Green Bay Packers, where both Sullivan and Hafley previously worked, or any of the teams for which Hafley coached.

Polk joined the Cowboys in 2025 after spending the previous three seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Craig Aukerman was the Dolphins special teams coordinator in 2025 after he replaced Danny Crossman, meaning Miami could have a third person in that role in three years. Aukerman interviewed last week for the special teams coordinator position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who instead went with longtime Pittsburgh Steelers assistant Danny Smith.

FORMER HEAD COACH UPDATES

After Mike McDaniel accepted to become offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers if he doesn't land a head coaching job this cycle, the move was repeated by the man he succeeded with the Dolphins.

Brian Flores agreed to terms on a contract extension as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, but that's only if he doesn't land one of the two head coaching jobs for which he's a candidate, with the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens.

Flores' contract was up, so what the extension did was keep him from accepting another defensive coordinator position.

Interestingly, McDaniel also is a candidate for the Baltimore Ravens job, which became vacant when the team fired John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. He's also a candidate for the top job with the Las Vegas Raiders, who fired longtime coach Pete Carroll after one season.

Among the other candidates for the Pittsburgh job, which opened when Mike Tomlin resigned, is Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, the grandson of the late great Don Shula. He's considered a strong candidate for the position, though he can't be interviewed again until the Rams' season ends — either after the NFC Championship Game on Sunday or after the Super Bowl if the Rams can defeat the Seattle Seahawks.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DOLPHINS PLAYER

The Dolphins signed their second player under new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan on Wednesday in the form of linebacker Josh Coleman.

He went undrafted out of Illinois in 2025 before signing with Seattle as a rookie free agent and spent a couple of weeks on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.

The first player signed to a future contract after Sullivan was hired was safety Omar Brown.

This was the NFL.com draft profile from Lance Zierlein for Coleman when he headed into the 2025 draft out of Illinois: "Slender 3-4 outside linebacker who is a good athlete but lacks exciting tape. Coleman will struggle to hold his ground against downhill blockers when he’s centered up, but he does a nice job of creating slippery angles to work off the block and find the action. He has some bend at the top of the rush but not enough upfield take-off to really maximize that bend. While his production won’t stand out, he uses active hands and long arms to make the most of his snaps. Coleman has a chance to become an NFL backup."