Jeff Hafley’s strategy as Dolphins’ new head coach (1:57)
Jeff Hafley joins “The Rich Eisen Show” and breaks down his strategy as he starts his new position as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. (1:57)
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Marcel Louis-JacquesFeb 1, 2026, 03:19 PM ET
- Marcel Louis-Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a beat reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before switching to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers beat writer for the Charlotte Observer won the APSE award for breaking news and the South Carolina Press Association award for enterprise writing in 2018.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are hiring former Green Bay Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan as their next defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Sunday.
Duggan will join recently hired head coach Jeff Hafley for the fourth time after previously coaching with him at Ohio State, Boston College and in Green Bay.
The 32-year-old Duggan is the second-youngest coordinator in the NFL, behind Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. He’s spent most of his 11-year coaching career at the collegiate level, including stops at Boston College, Hawai’i, UMass and Ohio State before joining Hafley’s staff in Green Bay as a defensive assistant in 2024. He was promoted to linebackers coach last season.
Duggan takes over a Dolphins defense that ranked 22nd in yards allowed per game last season and 25th in defensive expected points added. While the unit as a whole will likely undergo changes from a season ago, it features building blocks like defensive tackles Zach Sieler, Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips, linebackers Jordyn Brooks, Bradley Chubb and Chop Robinson, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
While he will have the title and role of defensive coordinator, Duggan will not call plays. Hafley said during his introductory news conference in January that he plans to call defensive plays because it’s “important” to him.
“It’s something that I love to do. It really connects me with that group,” Hafley said. “I think it will bring a lot of energy to that side of the football, and I think the details will be exactly how I want them early on as we go.”
