Richard Sherman Podcast - Jeff Hafley on REBUILDING Dolphins, roster cuts, 2026 Draft Picks & NFL coaching philosophy
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
4.1 • 10.3K Ratings
🗓️ 5 May 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jeff Hafley joins Richard Sherman to discuss his rise to becoming head coach of the Miami Dolphins and the bold decisions behind resetting the roster and culture. Hafley explains why moving on from star players was necessary, how he’s building one of the youngest teams in the NFL, and why toughness, effort, and a true love for football drive his evaluation process. He also shares lessons learned from coaching under Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur, his philosophy on empowering players through communication, and why he believes Malik Willis can lead this new era in Miami after the team parted ways with Tua Tagovailoa. This interview is a deep dive into NFL coaching, leadership, team building, and what it takes to create long-term success.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:09.4 | Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. |
| 0:11.8 | We got an incredible guest today. |
| 0:14.1 | One of my favorite coaches. |
| 0:15.3 | He got his start as a DB coach with the Bucks, the Browns. |
| 0:18.7 | Then he was my DB coach in San Francisco, went back to college, |
| 0:22.9 | to Ohio State, then the head coach at Boston College, then the defensive coordinator for the |
| 0:27.7 | Green Bay Packers, and now the head coach for the Miami Dolphins. I want to welcome the great |
| 0:32.7 | defensive mind and a good friend of mine, Jeff Hathley. Appreciate you joining me, brother. |
| 0:36.3 | Thanks, Sherman. It's good to have you on. Cool to see you doing this, even though you could probably still be playing or coaching, which you never take me up on my offers, but one day you will. One day I will. Not that time yet, not that time yet, but eventually you're going to get the itch and you're going to be off the podcast deal and you're going to be the one being interviewed. Yeah, yeah, you're going to be off your second Super Bowl and I'm going to be like, yeah, this is probably about the time. I should probably go ahead and dust it off my shoulders and get involved. You've coached college, you've worked as a coordinator in Green Bay and now you're leading a team in Miami. Which part of your journey do you think has had the greatest impact? |
| 1:13.6 | Because it seems like such a quick trajectory, |
| 1:16.6 | but there's so much work and so much work you've put in behind the scenes, |
| 1:20.6 | so many man hours that you've put in, so much dedication, |
| 1:23.6 | so much a lock-in, and you're finally getting to see the fruits of your labor? |
| 1:28.4 | I think I've been lucky with all the stops. |
| 1:32.0 | You know, I think one thing that, you know, I've been fortunate, it's been a long journey, |
| 1:36.9 | and it's been, you know, there's been some ups and downs, but, you know, just coaching a position, |
| 1:42.6 | for example, I think, you know, I learned I was able to |
| 1:45.8 | coach from a young age, whether I was coaching you or Ronde or Rivas. I've been around some really, |
| 1:50.4 | really good players. And I learned how to connect with those players. And I learned how to pick |
| 1:55.1 | their brains. And I've learned from really good players, kind of like you and I would always |
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