As expected, Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley is hiring Packers linebackers coach Sean Duggan as Miami’s new defensive coordinator, a league source said Sunday.
Duggan, 38, was the Packers linebacker coach for a single season after serving as a defensive assistant to Hafley with Green Bay in 2024.
Hafley and Duggan have worked together with three different teams — Ohio State (in 2019, when Duggan was a graduate assistant and Hafley was defensive coordinator); at Boston College (where Duggan was Hafley’s linebackers coach for two years and then co-defensive coordinator for one season when Hafley was head coach) and in Green Bay the past two seasons.
Duggan, a former linebacker at Boston College, also was a linebackers coach at Hawaii (2016; his first position coaching job) and Massachussetts in 2017 and 2018.
Duggan, who grew up in Cincinnati, was hired as a defensive assistant by the Packers in March 2024 — six weeks after Hafley left Boston College to become the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Hafley has said that he will call the defensive plays for the Dolphins but that he wants a coordinator who is familiar with his system and can implement it.
Former Seahawks defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt also interviewed for the job.
Duggan replaces Anthony Weaver, who was the Dolphins defensive coordinator the past two seasons.
The new Dolphins staff — which is mostly but not entirely set — also includes offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, linebackers coach Al Washington, defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, running backs coach Ladell Betts, cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae, offensive line coach Zach Yenser, defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis (Packers), quarterback coach Nathaniel Hackett (Packers), and assistant offensive line coach Matt Applebaum (Boston College), assistant special teams coach Darius Eubanks and assistant defensive line coach Chuck Nadulue.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins lost out on the possibility of snagging two compensatory picks in the 2026 and 2027 drafts when Las Vegas and Arizona bypassed hiring Weaver as their next head coach.
The Raiders reportedly are hiring Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and the Cardinals are expected to hire Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.
The Dolphins would have received compensatory picks at the end of the third round in 2026 and 2027 if any team had hired Weaver as their head coach, as part of the league’s program to develop and promote minority assistants.
Weaver interviewed for a half dozen head coaching jobs in this cycle, but did not interview for the Dolphins’ head job.
This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 2:58 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
