Visit Advertiser website

For the precious few who get a chance to coach an NFL team, winning for the first time will always stand as a treasured moment, a forever memory.

But accomplishing it within a Hail Mary throw of your hometown makes it even sweeter.

For Jeff Hafley, it was only appropriate that his first win as Dolphins coach, a 28-25 victory against the Jets, came in a stadium 20 miles from where he grew up in Montvale, N.J.

Even as kept saying afterward that this wasn’t about him, and that his greatest joy was for his players after an 0-5 start, the moment certainly had deep meaning, particularly because it happened in front of about 30 family members and friends.

“To have my mom here, my brother, my sister, a lot of family, that’s important,” he said. “As a kid coming into this stadium, I have a lot of memories.... a lot of memories with my dad. Thinking of me as a little kid in the parking lot as we [drove in Sunday], I was one of those guys flipping off the buses, and now here I am.”

In the postgame celebration, a snippet of which was posted on the Dolphins’ X account, Hafley held up his hands and jumped up and down as his players poured water bottles over him.

“I appreciate the hell out of you guys,” he said. “You deserve this….You work so hard. You stick together. You build. You don’t flinch. You didn’t listen to anything. [Before the late, game-sealing 4th and 1 conversion on a run by Malik Willis], I asked the o-line - what did I say - ‘are you going to get this?’ They all looked at me and said, ‘Hell yes, coach.’

“I believe in you guys…. I’m going to get every single guy a game ball for this one, because you all deserve it. You are going to look back at this one…”

Then owner Stephen Ross, hoisting a football, entered the frame, giving Hafley a hug. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan also embraced his coach.

“You are going to look back at this game ball,” Hafley said. “We are going to get a lot as we go. This is where it all started. We’re all going to remember it.”

A short time later, Hafley explained to reporters that “I wanted to win for them. The important thing for me was for them to feel this moment. I’m grateful for them. I’m proud of them. It was a fun day.”

There were special moments to follow. When he left the locker room, “my mom, brother, sister,... wife were right outside the door,” Hafley said, noting that was “more meaningful to me” than anything. “It was special for all of them. It was a good day.”

Among those who reached out to Hafley later in the day: former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who has been a mentor. He called Hafley to congratulate him.

Hafley became the third Dolphins coach to win his first game on the road, joining Don Shula (Sept. 27, 1970 at the Houston Oilers) and Tony Sparano (Sept. 21, 2008 against the Patriots). He joined Brian Flores as the only Dolphins coach to record his first win in a game against the Jets.

Like Sparano and Flores, Hafley did not play in the NFL. He played wide receiver at Pascack Hills High and his team was 7-2, but “I wasn’t very good, “ he said. “That’s why I’m coaching.”

After the Dolphins hired him in January, Hafley established from the outset that errors he views as egregious (like unsportsmanlike conduct penalties) won’t be accepted quietly. But he also displays a warmth and approachability with players.

There’s a fine line there. Flores was a disciplinarian whose icy sternness and sharp tongue wore on some players. McDaniel was a player’s coach who players didn’t remotely fear.

Hafley seems to have struck a balance between the two.

Both a Dolphins player and an assistant coach said recently they really appreciate the evenness in Hafley’s demeanor.

“The biggest thing coach Hafley provides is consistency; he’s the same guy every day,” said defensive line coach Austin Clark, who was one of only a few assistants retained from Mike McDaniel’s staff.

“He wants that from us as coaches. He demands that from players. He has good charisma with the staff and players.”

This and that

Some news from Hafley’s Monday news conference:

▪ Asked about some who might prefer losses to get a higher draft pick, Hafley said: “I have a hard time grasping that. I’m hoping they’re happy we won the game.”

▪ On a roster with 15 rookies, Hafley said: “A lot of these people haven’t won an NFL game. I didn’t have to give a victory Monday. [Some] of these players don’t know what a victory Monday is. They’re too young.”

(A victory Monday is when NFL coaches give their players Monday off after a win. Dolphins players came into work on Monday.)

He agreed that the win gave some players a lift psychologically: “For some guys, it gives them more belief, that you can trust the process.”

▪ Hafley said this is really important to him: “Who the guys are without the ball in their hand, how hard they’re playing. [Fullback DJ] Herman, all he does is block and strain. Chris Bell, how physical he was...

“Jonah [Savaiinaea] was so physical against what I thought was a really good front. Watching [center Aaron Brewer] run down the field. We’ve got to keep highlighting that. That is more important than a wide receiver catching the ball.”

▪ He said tight end Greg Dulcich, who had 5 for 86, “played a really good game, [broke] some tackles.”

▪ On what he liked most about Willis Sunday: “Decision making, got the ball out quick, played with confidence. And the ability to make the plays with his feet, not take a sack. That [late first half] drive was 8:30, leading the offense in those key moments, and the biggest thing was protecting the football. He did a really good job taking care of the football.”

▪ On the Geno Smith TD pass to Mason Taylor, against Michael Taaffe: “We were in a call, had two guys covering the tight end and whoever didn’t take the tight end was going to be responsible for the quarterback. Trader was going to take the quarterback.... Taaffe came off his man thinking he had to go get the quarterback to try to make a play. You don’t fault him. Two young players who haven’t been in that situation.”

▪ Hafley said “we will start game-planning tonight for Sunday’s 4:25 p.m. home game against New England.”