What to Know About the Latest New Assistant ... And Who Could Be Next

Head coach Jeff Hafley continues to assemble his 2026 coaching staff

Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington runs drills during a football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The latest addition to Jeff Hafley's coaching staff for his first season as Miami Dolphins head coach is another coach with whom he's worked before, but not at Boston College or with the Green Bay Packers.

This one is former Ohio State connection Al Washington, who will be joining the Dolphins after serving as run game coordinator/defensive line coach for Notre Dame. Washington was named linebackers coach earlier this month but won't get to serve in that role for the Fighting Irish, but could be handling that role with Miami.

The 2025 linebackers coach was Joe Barry, who was the defensive coordinator with the Packers before Hafley replaced him in 2024 and is not expected to be retained.

Washington was linebackers coach at Ohio State from 2019-21, and in that 2019 season Hafley was the co-defensive coordinator/DB coach for the Buckeyes. Hafley also coached linebackers at Michigan in 2018.

This will be a first NFL job for Washington, who both played and coached at Boston College, but before Hafley was its head coach from 2020-23.

THE NEXT ASSISTANT ON THE WAY?

Washington would become the ninth newcomer to the Dolphins coaching staff, following QB coach Nathaniel Hackett, DB coach Ryan Downard, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis, cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae, running backs coach Ladell Betts, wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert and offensive line Zach Yesner.

Green Bay Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan also is expected to join Hafley's staff, quite possibly as defensive coordinator.

Another coach who could be headed to Miami is Packers assistant defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase, who's got a long working relationship with Hafley. Before they were together in Green Bay, Oghobaase was Hafley's defensive line coach at Boston College for his four seasons as head coach and both were members of the San Francisco 49ers defensive staff in 2016-17.

Oghobaase, incidentally, never played a regular season game in the NFL after he was a defensive tackle at Duke, but he spent time with the Dolphins in 2010 after being signed as an undrafted rookie free agent.

Austin Clark has been the Dolphins' defensive line coach since 2021 and is highly respected in the organization, but it might turn out that Hafley wants an entirely new staff as he takes over the defense — he has declared that he will call the defensive signals during games next season.

Two of the Dolphins' 2025 defensive coaches already have found new jobs — Brian Duker as New York Jets defensive coordinator and Mathieu Araujo as defensive pass game coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.