Last week, our Miami Dolphins hired new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley. After these two hires, I posed a question:
What grade (AF) would you give to the two head coaches and general managers hired by the Miami Dolphins? Grade aside, do you think in both cases they found the best person for the job, and if not, who would you rather see the team pursue and why?
Here are some thoughts and answers for you –
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Cardiac bag M8 Pause to share some insights into these two new hires. sounds good!
You’re going to love these two guys.
I know Hafley is going to end up being a head coach somewhere. You knew it from the first time you heard him speak in Green Bay. He just talks like a head coach. I know he was at BC, but frankly he inherited a defense that had been terrible and underachieving for years. Gosh, that’s been the story of our franchise for the past 10 to 12 years. Even though they picked up a lot of bad habits from Joe Barry and even suffered injuries, Huff got a lot from those guys defensively. I love listening to his reporters every week because he doesn’t take bullshit. He’ll explain things so you guys can understand, and he’ll even draw a damn script on the blackboard for members of the media to make his point. He is sincere and as he said today, what you see is what you get. Also a funny guy. I think he will be very beneficial to you.
Sullivan, too. He’s here for good and we usually hear his voice in the Packers front office’s post-draft press conference every year. He knows his shit. We’ve had a ton of talent on our roster for most of the past 7-8 years, let alone the 2010s. This has never been a problem in the UK.
Just two really solid guys who are going to work hard and do whatever it takes to make this team better. Players will want to do their best for Huff.
molly polly ii Satisfied with the top hires, but more concerned about the rest of the lower-level soldiers.
Both have my vote. They certainly have experience and hopefully that will pay off for us. I’m worried about OC n DC, including the assistant coaching position. Maybe consider recruiting Jason Taylor from the Hurricanes (or is it too early yet)? Lucky for these guys, unless they totally fuck up, the only direction they can push this organization is up!
Dolfanin ME I think the real problem lies with the local media and us fans.
Miami’s real problem is the media and the fans. Expecting to win a Super Bowl in year three or four is unrealistic. So here we are on the roller coaster again. McDaniel is a good coach. He thinks Tua’s quick reads and releases can make up for OL’s weaknesses. Can’t. I believe he has learned this and will become a good HC in the future.
Newcomers will also have a lot to learn. before they were fired three years later.
Dolphin 52 Say you need to get over the whole Rose thing, or kick rocks, I guess.
For those who keep saying nothing will change until Rose sells the team, gets over it, or chooses another team. It’s already established. The team stays in the family.
As for me…go Fiennes! !
david7777 Somehow believing that Tomlin will come again, we’ll just have to wait a little! ? ! ? !
Hopefully this guy is just a placeholder for Mike Tomlin when he returns as our head coach after a year off
tiffinzi Everything is focused on these hires.
I give both an “A”.
I base this opinion on their comments about size, racing in harsh conditions, and the culture of the environment.
Also, both of them looked very hungry. Like they have something to prove. More “no nonsense” but able to connect the dots and make feedback meaningful for players
Dirk Surf Think there’s some risk in hiring two newbies to do the job.
It’s hard to say.
He has had a very mediocre record since being a head coach, including a 22-26 record in 4 years at BC and just one year as DC with the Packers where they ranked 9th and 10th in pass and run defense and had zero head coaching performance in the NFL
At the same time, the GM’s history bears similarities to the guy we just fired, who appears to be a lifelong Packers scout (22 years) who started out as a scout and has zero NFL GM experience.
All in all, the upside is that the Packers are a more stable, successful organization, the general manager does have a track record of investing in senior positions, and HC has had some success as a defensive-minded coach. The same risk for the Fins is that we hire two newbies to fill their roles.
Bill Moody Don’t know what to think yet.
The general manager says all the right things, and the fact that he’s not Chris Grier is a huge plus. But other than that, I don’t know much about the guy, so I can’t really grade him until we see his draft.
The coach is a complete unknown. The only thing I know about him is that against the Bears, his defense gave up 28 points in the fourth quarter that ended up being bounced back in the playoffs. That’s it…that’s all I know. Again, I can’t really rate him because I don’t know anything about him.
Lu No. 1 Give us some pros and cons of both.
Sully B+
Professionals who have long served in a variety of roles in successful franchises and do not want to quickly flash, develop and support draftees from fiscally conservative franchises,
Cance didn’t appear to be a primary decision-maker before, unsure of his negotiating skills and had limited contact with players or coaches outside the Packers organization.
Hafley B-
Pro player, experience with Packers system, previous familiarity with GM, seems committed to player development, previous HC experience (albeit at the college level). Played as a defensive player in England. Obviously very respected by players.
Con has limited assistant network in the NFL, no NFL offensive experience, unknown game day time management, challenges or other side processes,
This is an outsider with no close or personal knowledge other than the information readily available online. I’m sure there were a lot of other things involved in the meeting, and to what extent Sully was involved in Cap’s plans, etc., we really don’t know. These are just thoughts off the top of my head.
Miami Italian Give them a B!
I give these employees a B grade. We’ll see if JES and Hafley can turn this team into a place where players think about football first, rather than partying in South Beach.
I like McDermott when he’s available. I’m also surprised no one interviewed Joe Lombardi. If Bo Nix hadn’t been injured, the Broncos would have had a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. For Stidham, the situation was less serious.
Alpha 6 All things considered, they did a great job.
In this case, based on the available candidates… I give them an A.
Freshness and cultural change.
A new chapter brings a new direction.
New characters with new twists.
Let the twist develop over the next few months…
Dolfancio We are taking a steady wait-and-see stance.
100% they made the right decision! What should we say? Are they completely screwed? In six years, we’ll know if they hired the right mix. If by fourth year both were fired and we were 3 to 14, we probably wouldn’t be a happy bunch! But until then who knows!
killer country 1 Said the results were incomplete at this time.
incomplete
…which is better than:
Greer F. He failed.
McD F, he also failed in the end
Will these two really change culture and talent? Or will bad culture and talent change them both? Which of these forces will win?
saskatchewan Really want McDermott.
Now, I’d say B. Hafley does have college head coaching experience, so he should be well versed in game calling. I do like Weaver because I’ve heard multiple times that he has a locker. If they don’t collect picks by picking Weaver from another team, I’d drop it to a C. If they can create cultural change.
As for some of the comments on defense, we have them as well as the UK. Considering we don’t have a database. Injured all preseason. I think Weaver should be interviewed.
As for the GB loss, 28 points, take a moment. It was a playoff game in Chicago, and Ben Johnson made the team play a team game, and Chicago’s defense was good. Hafley took Parsons out. If you’re going to criticize me like that, then I can’t imagine how you feel about Sean Payton’s defense when Miami starts the game. After that defeat, the defense got stronger and some of that was pride.
For me, I want Sean McDermott. The Bills have been HC for 9 seasons, making the playoffs every year. How do you fire that person?
Just my 2 cents
Finsatex The current recruitment situation is believed to be stable.
They appear to be reliable employees. We don’t really seem to be chasing the shiny stuff, nor are we embarrassing ourselves by chasing candidates who don’t want to be part of the hiring process. So, this looks like an upgrade. There are also many temptations.
I like the message of building and coaching players through the draft, so a walk/talk conversation seemed appealing. Obviously, 2026 could be a bad season, so it’s hard to get too excited about that. I guess I’m more curious about how the offseason and the draft are going. This can be an important part of the walk. Not that they have a blank check, but I think they have a lot of room to do what’s best for the future.
I also think this is a team that has only recently made the playoffs and is hovering around 500, so there are some weird expectations for them to not be terrible and maintain a certain level of mediocrity. Barring a miracle, they can stick the landing and turn things around within a year, but that seems like a big aspiration.
Well, that’s 15 that we randomly picked tonight. It seems like most fans are either rooting for these two employees or are on the fence. If you missed the original post, you can check it out here along with other fans’ comments. As always, thank you for taking the time to read and answer our questions today. Be sure to join us tomorrow for the conference tournament live stream.