The Subtle (And Not So Subtle) Differences So Far Under Hafley

The Miami Dolphins are wrapping up their second week of OTAs on Friday, and though the media has been allowed to watch only two of the six sessions so far it's been easy to spot some differences under Jeff Hafley.

The new Dolphins head coach has his own way of doing things, and while it would be an oversimplification to say things have been more business-like this spring than under his predecessor, it's also not completely off base.

This is Hafley's first go-around as an NFL head coach after he was an assistant for nine seasons sandwiched around five years at the collegiate level, including four as head coach at Boston College.

And, though it's still early, there are some clear indications so far about how he likes to operate.

THE PRACTICE DIFFERENCES UNDER HAFLEY

The first noticeable change — and this came at the one rookie minicamp practice open to the media — was how the Dolphins conduct their stretching period.

It's first of all a much longer period than it was under head coach Mike McDaniel and the players are even spread out differently with offensive and defensive players mixed in, as opposed to the previous setup of offense closest to the enclosed indoor wall at the Baptist Health Training Complex and defense closest to the outdoor fields.

There's then a subtle thing like all the players coming together for a quick huddle and some fist bumps after stretching before they run outside to start working on football stuff.

There have been no players wearing an orange jersey as the practice player of the day, which also came under McDaniel with the privilege of selecting the music for that day.

And speaking of music, we don't know yet how it's chosen (that will be a question for Hafley next week), the volume is consistently low where it serves as background noise as opposed to recent years where the volume was pretty high except for certain periods.

And those periods also are longer under Hafley than they were under McDaniel and we've also noticed players moving more quickly from one drill to another, though perhaps that's more perception than reality.

The overall feel is maybe more of a business-like approach with Hafley, though some of that likely or could be related to having a first-time NFL head coach with one of the youngest rosters around the NFL.

RELATING TO PLAYERS AND THE MEDIA

In McDaniel, the Dolphins had one of the most unique head coaches in terms of personality, a guy who simply didn't fit the mold.

Hafley, on the other hand, is a lot more prototypical and he's earned points (very) early in his tenure for his candor when dealing with the media and decisively and succinctly making his points.

The latest example of that came when he was asked Wednesday about the job of nickel back and his goals for that position.

Hafley's players have been consistent in mentioning how direct and to the point he has shown to be so far.

Zach Sieler described it as the "candid truth" when asked about the big difference he has seen so far with the new coaching staff.

"It's not out of resentment. It's not out of anger. It's out of, hey, here's the truth," Sieler said Wednesday. "Here's who you are. Here's what you've done. Here's what you haven't done. Here's what you did last play. Here's what I want to see from you next play and we're getting better together. Don't take it personal. If you didn't do good enough last play, figure out why you didn't and correct it.

"There's no grudges, there's no hard feelings but go out there and make the best plays and become the best player you can be. The big focus is taking individual to team and how to best pose the drills to translate into team reps. We're focused on that a lot this offseason and keep growing."

THE BOTTOM LINE

As with everything else, the fact Hafley is a new coach with a young roster always figured to bring in a new approach, which is what the Dolphins wanted they made the coaching change after the 2025 season.

We likely will see more changes, subtle or obvious, in the weeks and months ahead leading up to the start of the 2026 season and the very last ones will involve X's and O's and game management.

For now, it's about setting a foundation and establishing a culture for Hafley and putting his stamp on what the Dolphins will look like.

And for sure it's a new day for the Dolphins.

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