Throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s, the Miami Dolphins franchise has faced numerous struggles.
Some of their problems have played out on the field — Miami currently holds the longest active playoff win drought at 26 years. However, the organization’s biggest setbacks have arisen off the field, including scandals and issues with team culture.
After firing general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel at the end of the 2025 season, the Dolphins look to start a new era in Miami. To do so, they hired Packers VP of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager and Packers defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, as their new head coach.
Through the fresh hires, Miami is hoping to build a new culture and reclaim success for the franchise.
Coaching Controversies in Miami
One issue in Miami’s culture was sparked after the firing of Head Coach Brian Flores in 2022. The Dolphins let Flores go after he finished his three seasons with a 24-25 record, missing the playoffs in all three campaigns.
After the firing, there was a series of controversies over how the organization treated Flores in Miami. One of the big stories that came out was that owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 per game for every loss the team had in the 2019 season. Flores refused the offer, leading to a loss of trust between him and Ross, which was one of the factors leading to his firing.
Miami hired Mike McDaniel to take Flores’ place and hopefully help Miami reach the playoffs. The former offensive coordinator found success early on with the Dolphins, finishing with winning records and making the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
McDaniel was coaching one of the top offenses in football, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa playing well and leading the NFL in passing yards while also making the Pro Bowl in 2023.
Despite the early success, Miami would miss the playoffs the following two seasons, and the offense would fail to meet the standard set in years prior. In the 2025-26 season, reports circulated that McDaniel had lost control of the locker room. Throughout the year, critics of McDaniel mentioned that he was “soft” on his players, causing hierarchy and leadership issues within the locker room.
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Miami fired McDaniel this offseason, ending his tenure as the Dolphins’ head coach.
The Tampering Scandal
In the midst of the issues going on between Miami and coach Flores, the NFL launched an investigation into the team regarding tampering.
From 2019-2022, Miami was believed to be tampering on three separate occasions. It came to light that General Manager Stephen Ross and Vice Chairman Bruce Beal were in conversations with Tom Brady while he was still with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to join the team both as a player and as an executive for the organization. Along with talking to Brady, Miami was in conversations with Saints Head Coach Sean Payton to be the Dolphins’ new head coach without the approval of the New Orleans organization.
As a result of this investigation, Ross and Miami were punished, stripped of a first-round draft pick in 2023 and a third-round draft pick in 2024. Ross was also suspended for a period of time and had to pay a $1.5 million fine.
Despite the tampering, Miami did not end up with either Brady or Payton, ultimately losing out on both as well as potential draft picks to help Miami in the future.
What the New Staff Will Bring
With Miami bringing in its new general manager and head coach, the organization is looking to move on from its past controversies and get back to winning games and building a culture.
In the introductory press conference, newly hired Head Coach Jeff Hafley spoke about how much passion he plans to bring to Miami. Outside of his accolades and accomplishments with the Packers, the passion and leadership Hafley has shown are the most notable things that Packer fans, coaches, and players rave about.
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The Dolphins brought Hafley to Miami because of how much respect the general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has for him from their time together in Green Bay. Sullivan had nothing but praise in the introductory press conference for Hafley, describing for viewers the type of leader Miami has with its new head coach.
From Sullivan’s words, it’s clear that Hafley is a tough coach who does things the hard way. He will bring a culture that the organization has been missing after the reports of soft leadership.
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Miami’s new staff will has some holes to fill within the coaching staff and roster before the start of the 2026 NFL season. Even with these question marks, the passion and energy shown by the new staff hires in their press conferences show signs of promise for Dolphin fans.
With a new change in the culture, Hafley and Sullivan look to lead a new era of Miami Dolphins football. Their goal will be leaving the controversies and scandals in the past and developing a new identity and culture in the process.
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