Miami’s new regime has spent months describing 2026 as the start of a longer rebuild. One NFL executive thinks Jeff Hafley went too far when he publicly lowered the emphasis on the standings.
Five of six executives surveyed by The Athletic ranked the Dolphins last in the AFC entering the season. One specifically pointed to Hafley’s comments about how Miami should measure success and argued that the message clashes with what players want to hear inside an NFL locker room.
NFL Executive Pushes Back on Jeff Hafley’s Message
“I was shocked Hafley said they are not going to be judged on wins and losses,” the executive told The Athletic. “The locker room does not want to hear that. You literally contradicted what your best player (De’Von Achane) said: ‘Hey, this is a new year every year, why not us?’ When your head coach puts that on record, man!”
Hafley created the debate during an interview with Stephen A. Smith when he was asked to define success in his first season.
“Success is not gonna be measured in wins and losses this year, and I know nobody wants to hear that,” Hafley said.
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His larger point was about development. Miami replaced Mike McDaniel with Hafley, hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as general manager, and aggressively reset a roster that lost Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle. Hafley said he wanted the year to establish a physical identity, identify long-term pieces, and build something sustainable.
The criticism is sharper because Achane represents the clearest reason for Miami to resist treating 2026 like a throwaway season. He rushed for a career-high 1,350 yards last year, earned his first Pro Bowl selection, and finished No. 6 in PFN’s RB Impact Rankings with an 83.6 grade.
Hafley Already Clarified What He Meant
Hafley addressed the controversy after Miami’s preseason finale and made clear he was not conceding games before the season started. In his full clarification, he emphasized that winning remains the goal every week while arguing that the process and foundation cannot be sacrificed for short-term results.
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“We, and I, want to win everything that we do,” Hafley said. “But success is not just defined by winning. Winning, for sure, that’s why we play the game. And I think every competitor wants to win in everything that we do. But it’s kind of like what I was just talking about before. We are going to compete. I want to win everything that we do. I’ve said that over and over. But at the same time, we need to make sure that this foundation and the process is built the right way. ”
General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan was even more direct two days later. Asked about patience with quarterbacks and team-building, Sullivan said head coaches and general managers ultimately are judged on wins and losses regardless of circumstances.
That leaves Miami with two messages that are not necessarily incompatible but sound very different publicly. Hafley is emphasizing how the Dolphins build. Achane and Sullivan are emphasizing what the league eventually uses to keep score.
The executives clearly heard Hafley’s version as an unnecessary lowering of expectations.
Miami opens Sept. 13 at Las Vegas with Malik Willis at quarterback and one of the youngest, most reshaped rosters in the AFC. If the Dolphins outperform those bottom-of-the-conference projections, the distinction between process and record will matter much less.
