Tag: Dolphins

Reports: Jeff Hafley gets 2nd interviews with Dolphins, Titans

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has scheduled second interviews with the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans for their head-coaching vacancies, multiple outlets reported Sunday.

Hafley will meet with Miami on Monday and Tennessee on Tuesday, per the reports.

Hafley, 46, just completed his second season on Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur’s staff following four seasons as the head coach at Boston College.

The Dolphins dismissed Mike McDaniel after a 7-10 season and the Titans fired Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start.

Hafley also has met with the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders. The Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski for their head-coaching position.

Hafley also served as the co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Ohio State in 2019 before compiling a 22-26 record at Boston College from 2020-23. He was a defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13), Browns (2014-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016-18).

–Field Level Media

Browns interviewing Mike McDaniel on Monday

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The Cleveland Browns are interviewing former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel about their coaching vacancy on Monday, the team announced.

McDaniel, who coached the Browns’ wide receivers in 2014, went 7-10 this season and posted a 35-33 record over four seasons with the Dolphins.

McDaniel, 42, led Miami to the playoffs in 2022 and 2023. He was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017-21, spending the last year as offensive coordinator.

Cleveland fired two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski last week after he compiled a 45-56 record over six seasons and led the Browns to the playoffs twice.

McDaniel is the sixth candidate to interview for the job in Cleveland, which was a combined 8-26 over the past two seasons under Stefanski.

The Browns interviewed their offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, along with Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken, Cincinnati Bengals OC Dan Pitcher and Seattle Seahawks DC Aden Durde. They also reportedly requested a meeting with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.

–Field Level Media

Report: Dolphins seek to interview Don Shula’s grandson

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The Miami Dolphins have requested to interview Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula for their head coach opening, NFL Network reported Saturday.

Shula’s grandfather, of course, is Pro Football Hall of Fame member Don Shula, the legendary coach who led the Dolphins for 26 years. Under Shula, the Dolphins won five AFC championships and back-to-back Super Bowl games following the 1972 and ‘73 seasons.

The 1972 Dolphins posted a 17-0 mark and are the only NFL team to finish with a perfect record.

The younger Shula, 39, is in his ninth season with the Rams and his second running the defense. In 2024, in Shula’s first season as defensive coordinator, the Rams finished tied for fifth in red zone efficiency (50%) and sixth in goal-to-go efficiency (65.5%).

His father is David Shula, who was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals (1992-96). His uncle, Mike Shula, spent last season as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at South Carolina and has a long NFL and college coaching background. He was the head coach at Alabama (2003-06), immediately preceding the arrival of Nick Saban.

Don Shula, who also coached the Baltimore Colts, is the winningest coach in NFL history with 328 regular-season victories. He has 347 total wins including playoff victories. He died in 2020 at age 90.

The Shulas join the Phillips family (Bum, Wade and Wes) as the only three-generation NFL coaching family, according to multiple sources.

The Dolphins finished the 2025 season with a 7-10 record, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and fired head coach Mike McDaniel. They are expected to be one of the teams seeking to interview former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, as well.

–Field Level Media

Reports: Dolphins to tab Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Miami Dolphins are set to hire Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

Sullivan will replace Chris Grier, who was fired by the Dolphins in October after serving in that role since 2016.

The reports of the hiring come one day after Miami fired fourth-year head coach Mike McDaniel following a 7-10 season.

Sullivan has been with the Packers for the past two decades in a variety of scouting and personnel roles. He spent the last four seasons as the team’s VP of player personnel.

The Dolphins brought in Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman to consult during the GM hiring process. He was one of Sullivan’s biggest supporters, per The Athletic.

Interim Dolphins general manager Champ Kelly, San Francisco 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams and Los Angeles Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander also were considered candidates for the role in Miami.

In addition to the coaching situation, Sullivan also will need to address the status of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The former first-round pick carries a $56.4 million cap hit in 2026 and cutting him prior to June 1 would result in a $99.2 million dead cap hit next season.

–Field Level Media

Dolphins fire head coach Mike McDaniel after 7-10 season

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The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday morning after four seasons.

The Dolphins started the 2025 season with six losses in seven games, fired general manager Chris Grier in October and owner Stephen Ross opted to delay a decision on McDaniel until after the season.

Miami finished with a 7-10 record.

McDaniel, 42, posted a 35-33 record with a pair of postseason appearances in his first two years with the team. He signed a three-year contract extension in August 2024.

The firing of McDaniel is the eighth NFL coaching change since the conclusion of the regular season.

Per ESPN, the Dolphins have yet to contact former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh about the position. Ross has ties to the Harbaugh family.

Ross met with McDaniel earlier this week to discuss the season before making his decision on Thursday.

“After careful evaluation and extensive discussions since the season ended, I have made the decision that our organization is in need of comprehensive change,” Ross said in a statement.

“I love Mike and want to thank him for his hard work, commitment, and the energy he brought to our organization. Mike is an incredibly creative football mind whose passion for the game and his players was evident every day. I wish him and his family the best moving forward.”

–Field Level Media

Tua Tagovailoa: ‘I would be good with’ fresh start in ‘26

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Tua Tagovailoa signaled he would be open to move on from the Miami Dolphins as the players cleaned out their lockers Monday, and coach Mike McDaniel said he will meet with Tagovailoa on Tuesday morning to discuss how to move forward.

Tagovailoa, who was benched after Week 15 in favor of rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, hadn’t previously indicated whether he believed he had played his last game for the franchise that drafted him fifth overall in 2020.

Reporters asked Tagovailoa Monday if he was hoping for a fresh start next season. The quarterback simply responded, “That would be dope. I would be good with it.”

Tagovailoa, 27, added that he understood the question was about playing elsewhere. He declined to share more.

The six-year NFL veteran said he was disappointed when McDaniel benched him in mid-December but did not elaborate further. He was benched less than a year and a half after inking a four-year, $212.5 million contract extension with the team, guaranteeing him $167 million.

The Dolphins fired Chris Grier, the general manager who signed him to that deal, in October. Tagovailoa is guaranteed $54 million in 2026, which could affect the Dolphins’ decision-making process.

Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions in 14 games (all starts) this season. He went 6-8 as a starter and the Dolphins slipped out of the playoff race before finishing 7-10.

McDaniel told reporters his meeting with Tagovailoa was planned for Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. He also pointed to the moving piece of the front office needing a new leader.

“I don’t think anybody quite understands what it’d be like to be through the ringer of a year that he’s had. So to remove emotions, to have a conversation will be very healthy. And beyond that, we’re still in the process of having a GM hired.”

–Field Level Media

Patriots throttle Dolphins, capture second seed in AFC

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 131 yards and had three total touchdowns to lead the New England Patriots to a 38-10 rout of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Foxborough, Mass.

The Patriots (14-3) settled for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs after Denver secured the top seed — and a first-round bye — by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) in season finale on Sunday.

New England will host the seventh-seeded Chargers next weekend in the AFC Wild Card round.

The Dolphins (7-10) fell short of the postseason and finished with a losing record for the second consecutive season.

Stevenson rushed for two touchdowns and had a scoring reception.

Rookie TreVeon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns for New England, which amassed 243 yards to ground to cap its sixth 14-win season in franchise history.

The Patriots won 14 games for the first time since 2016, and their 10-win turnaround from last season tied the 1999 Colts and 2008 Dolphins for the largest win-difference from one season to the next in NFL history.

Stevenson, who did his damage on the ground on just seven carries, broke a 56-yard run to the Dolphins’ 5-yard line on the game’s second play. Henderson scored on the next play.

Stevenson later scored on a 2-yard run to give New England a 14-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.

Miami played without running back De’Von Achane, who sat out with a rib injury. The Dolphins rushed for just 63 yards.

Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers made his third start and completed 16 of 23 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Ewers’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Malik Washington and a 52-yard field goal from Riley Patterson cut the Patriots’ lead to 14-10 just before halftime.

Trailing 17-10 early in the third, the Dolphins drove into the red zone, but Ewers was intercepted by Jaylinn Hawkins in the end zone with 11:38 left.

New England separated from that point on as Stevenson scored on the ensuing two drives, first on a 15-yard catch and run from Drake Maye, and later on a 35-yard touchdown run. Maye completed 14 of 18 passes for 191 yards.

–Field Level Media

Dolphins place TE Darren Waller on injured reserve

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The Miami Dolphins placed veteran tight end Darren Waller (groin) on injured reserve on Friday ahead of their season finale against the New England Patriots.

Waller, 33, came out of retirement this season to join the Dolphins and played in nine games (three starts), catching 24 of 34 targets for 283 yards and six touchdowns. He had an earlier stint on injured reserve because of a pectoral injury in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns and missed four games.

For his career, Waller has 374 receptions for 4,407 yards and 26 touchdowns in 95 regular-season games for the Baltimore Ravens (2015-16), Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders (2018-22), New York Giants (2023) and Dolphins. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 with the Raiders.

Baltimore selected him in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Georgia Tech.

In other moves on Friday, the Dolphins (7-9) signed running back Donovan Edwards to the active roster off the Washington Commanders’ practice squad and released cornerback Clarence Lewis from the practice squad.

Miami coach Mike McDaniel said running back De’Von Achane (shoulder) will not practice Friday and is a game-time decision, while wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (ribs) will be limited and is questionable to play at New England (13-3) on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

With win over Dolphins, Patriots can stay in No. 1 seed chase

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The New England Patriots clinched the AFC East championship last week and have a chance to lock up the conference’s top seed — and with it a first-round bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl — if it can beat division rival Miami on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

The Patriots (13-3), who can win 14 games in a season for the first time since 2016 when they won Super Bowl LI, can clinch the top seed with a win over the Dolphins (7-9) and a loss or tie by the Denver Broncos against the L.A. Chargers.

While New England would like this pursuit to be its sole focus this week, the team is dealing with legal issues surrounding two key players — receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive tackle Christian Barmore.

The Patriots were fresh off celebrating their first division title since 2019 when reports surfaced of Diggs facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation, and misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from an incident that took place on Dec. 2. Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 23.

In an unrelated incident, Barmore faces a misdemeanor charge of one count of assault and battery on a family/household member alleged to have occurred on Aug. 8.

New England coach Mike Vrabel said before the team’s practice Wednesday he hadn’t heard anything that would keep either player from being available to play against Miami, though Diggs’ status for the postseason remains unclear.

“It means that everybody that we care about and that we have been close to for a while … means that we support, and we do,” Vrabel said. “We understand that there’s allegations, but we also want to support each and every player, and each and every coach, and each and every staff member.”

The Patriots’ tumultuous week comes after a stress-free 42-10 victory over the New York Jets during which quarterback Drake Maye threw a career-high five touchdown passes. Maye threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another in Week 2 when the Patriots beat the Dolphins 33-27 in Miami.

Since being eliminated from postseason consideration, the Dolphins have turned their focus toward their future over the past two weeks. That has included benching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Rookie Quinn Ewers is expected to make his third career start — and first on the road — on Sunday. After struggling during a 45-21 loss to Cincinnati in which he threw two interceptions, Ewers bounced back last week and led Miami to a 20-17 win over Tampa Bay. Ewers tossed his first two touchdown passes, committed no turnovers and completed 14 of 22 passes for 172 yards.

“It’s what I always dreamed of is playing in this league at the highest level in this position, and it’s special whenever you’ve got a group of guys like we do this year,” Ewers said. “We’re not playing for a Super Bowl, so I thought we did a really good job of coming out here and playing for each other and playing for our last names and playing for the organization.”

The Dolphins took the pressure off Ewers by again running the football effectively, led by Pro Bowler De’Von Achane. The third-year pro has rushed for 1,350 yards and caught a team-high 67 passes for 488 yards. Achane’s rushing yardage is the third-most in a single season in Dolphins history behind Ricky Williams, who rushed for a league-high 1,853 yards in 2002 and 1,372 yards in 2003.

The Patriots had several players who didn’t practice on Wednesday, including Barmore due to an illness. The others were tight ends Hunter Henry (knee) and Jack Westover (ankle), linebackers Harold Landry III (knee) and Robert Spillane (ankle), defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot) and guard Jared Wilson (concussion). Cornerback Alex Austin (wrist), receiver Kayshon Boutte (concussion), linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson (illness) and offensive tackles Morgan Moses (rest) and Thayer Munford Jr. (illness) were limited.

For the Dolphins, Achane (shoulder), linebacker Jordyn Brooks (hamstring), safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf), tight end Darren Waller (groin), receiver Jaylen Waddle (ribs) and linebacker Chop Robinson (concussion) did not practice Wednesday. Center Aaron Brewer (neck) and kicker Jason Sanders (right hip) were limited.

–Field Level Media

Dolphins sign QB Cam Miller off Raiders’ practice squad

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The Miami Dolphins are signing rookie quarterback Cam Miller off the Las VegasRaiders’ practice squad to their active roster.

Miller’s representatives at JL Sports confirmed the transaction on Thursday.

Las Vegas selected Miller, 24, in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State.

Miller did not see any action during the regular season for the Raiders.

He joins a Miami quarterback room that includes fellow rookie Quinn Ewers, Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson.

Ewers is expected to start for the Dolphins (7-9) in Sunday’s season finale at New England (13-3).

–Field Level Media