The Dolphins Assistant Coaches Most Likely To Be Kept

New head coach Jeff Hafley is working on finalizing his staff for the 2026 season

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley makes his first remarks at his introductory press conference | Alain Poupart/Miami Dolphins On SI

As new Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley continues to finalize his coaching staff, the important question remains when it comes to which members of the previous staff will be retained.

We already know there will be at least one, that being Bobby Slowik as the new offensive coordinator after serving last year as senior pass game coordinator.

But the likelihood is he won't be the only holdover.

So who else could be retained?

Given that Hafley took the job after serving as defensive coordinator and intends to call the plays on defense, it's a safe assumption he'll be more inclined to want "his guys" on that side of the ball while perhaps there will be more focus on continuity on offense.

The decision to promote Slowik certainly would serve as a step in that direction.

So who else besides Slowik could be back from the 2025 staff?

One place to start would be running backs coach Eric Studesville, if for no other reason than he not only was retained by Mike McDaniel when he took over in 2022 but before that by Brian Flores when he became Dolphins head coach in 2019. Studesville completed his ninth season with the team last year after first being hired in 2017 by Adam Gase.

The fact that Studesville served the Dolphins also as associate head coach and has experience as an interim head coach (with Denver in 2010) only adds to his value.

Another logical place to look is the tight end room and Jon Embree, who worked with Hafley in San Francisco in 2017-18. Embree is another good sounding board for Hafley, having been an assistant head coach for the past nine years, including his four seasons with the Dolphins.

Offensive line coach Butch Barry and QB coach/passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell don't have a prior working relationship with Hafley, but they crossed paths with new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan with the Green Bay Packers.

Bevell also has extensive experience as an offensive coordinator and like Embree once served as an interim head coach.

Barry did good work with the Dolphins offensive line last year, but he could be a candidate to join Mike McDaniel in his new role as L.A. Chargers offensive coordinator. That position also could wind up going to Frank Smith, who held that position with the Chargers in 2021 before he became McDaniel's offensive coordinator in Miami.

THE DEFENSIVE STAFF AND POTENTIAL HOLDOVERS

Moving over to the defense, the expectation is the Dolphins will be bringing in former Green Bay assistants Sean Duggas as coordinator and Ryan Downard as DB coach, which all along meant the likely exits of both Anthony Weaver and Brian Duker, the latter becoming official when Duker was hired as New York Jets defensive coordinator Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Ryan Slowik, Bobby's brother, served as DB coach/pass game specialist last season and it will be interesting to see if he's brought back in a different capacity.

One coach we wouldn't expect to be back is linebackers coach Joe Barry, who was the man Hafley replaced as Packers defensive coordinator in 2024.

Finally, there's defensive line coach Austin Clark, who is held in high regard by the organization and very well might be back for a seventh season after working for both Flores and McDaniel.

The Dolphins already have their new special teams coordinator in place with former Buffalo Bills assistant coach Chris Tabor.

Along with McDaniel, the Dolphins coaches from 2025 who already have new jobs including special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman (Atlanta Falcons), wide receivers coach Robert Prince (Atlanta Falcons), OLB coach Sean Ryan (QB coach/pass game coordinator at Syracuse) and CB coach Mathieu Araujo (Jacksonville Jaguars).

As a point of reference, when McDaniel took over in 2022, Studesville was the only lead position coach he retained from Flores' staff, while he kept three key defensive assistants — coordinator Josh Boyer, linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, and Clark — along with special teams coordinator Danny Crossman.