New head coach Jeff Hafley is taking from his former team to build out the top of his defensive staff.
The Miami Dolphins are expected to hire Green Bay Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan as their new defensive coordinator, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Sunday.
It's a familiar story for Duggan and Hafley, who have traveled together throughout college and the NFL for the better part of a decade, though this move comes with the biggest title yet for 32-year-old first-time DC. Duggan was a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2019, when Hafley was the Buckeye's co-defensive coordinator. Hafley then departed to become the head coach at Boston College, bringing Duggan with him as the LBs coach from 2020-22 and adding a co-defensive coordinator title in 2023.
When Hafley went to Green Bay, so, too, did Duggan, first as a defensive assistant in 2024 and then as LBs coach this past season.
It's therefore only right that Hafley brings his right-hand man along with him as he embarks on the first head coaching role of his NFL career.
Their defensive philosophies should be neatly aligned at this point, though the two have a difficult task in front of them.
Miami has built a reputation, fair or unfair, of being soft in recent years, and that showed up during the 2025 season as the Dolphins finished in the bottom third of the league in both points and yards allowed. The Dolphins secondary needs nearly a complete overhaul -- Miami was one of 10 teams with single-digit interceptions -- with most of the team's corners set to hit free agency anyway, and the pass rush will also require an influx of depth.
However the roster shakes out, Duggan will be counted on to step into his biggest coaching opportunity thus far and make the most of the pieces.