Things have not gone well for the Miami Dolphins through the first two weeks of the NFL season. They have been thoroughly outplayed in each of the first two games as the team started 0-2 for the second consecutive season.
The Dolphins are now the only team in the NFL that has not held a lead at any point through the first two weeks. While there have been positives, the team has been unable to play mistake-free football, which appears to be necessary considering the team appears outmatched on a talent level.
Now, Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley has become frustrated with the team’s issues through two weeks, which is why he admitted that the team’s coaches must do a better job going forward.
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Places Blame on Coaches
Among the biggest reasons the Miami Dolphins struggled to keep up with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was the constant pressure quarterback Malik Willis faced. In particular, right tackle Austin Jackson struggled against All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa, who repeatedly was in one-on-one situations against Jackson on third-down.
Hafley admitted that the team’s coaching staff should probably do a better job not leaving Jackson alone in those situations as he said, “Plenty of opportunity for us to help him more. I think if we’re honest and we look at – he’s been up against Crosby and Bosa, I think those are two of the better players in our league. So he’s had some good moments and I think just like anyone else, he’s had some tough moments against them and there’s times when we can help him out more as coaches.”
Three Yards Per Carry podcast host Chris Kouffman noted the change in Hafley’s attitude, as he posted on X: “No more Mr. Nice Haf, judging by today’s press conference. The defensive miscommunications clearly got under his skin in a way we haven’t seen to date. He’s not brooking any excuses for any sort of magical Kyle Shanahan halo play designs.”
Regarding Hafley’s comments on Austin Jackson, Kouffman noted, “I do think it’s interesting that Hafley has the appearance of being willing to steer Slowik on specific issues week to week.”
Miami Dolphins Miscommunications
As Kouffman mentioned, aside from pass protection, the team struggled with miscommunication against the 49ers, which resulted in chunk plays for San Francisco.
Hafley said, “We had some busts that are very unlike us that I haven’t seen in practice, I hadn’t seen in camp. So we need to help each other out more back there and communicate more back there. That starts with coaching and then down to the players. So we looked really hard today to try to figure out why that happened, because it has not showed up. So clearly that was the biggest issue yesterday was the communication.”
Hafley and the rest of the team’s coaching staff will hope the team’s struggles with communication are minimal once the Dolphins take on MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in their home opener in Week 3.
Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley Issues Warning to Offensive Coordinator After Loss vs. 49ers