The 2026 Miami Dolphins are looking to end the “soft” perception of the Mike McDaniel era as they enter their first training camp under head coach Jeff Hafley. While speed and pre-snap motions were a major focus of McDaniel’s offense, building around players who could take the ball the length of the field if everything went right on any individual play, the 2026 version of the team will be looking to power through opposing defenses and stopping offenses. Size and strength will become a major factor
for the Dolphins, if Hafley’s vision comes to fruition.
The Dolphins reported for training camp on Tuesday, starting their build up for the regular season. Hafley met with the media on Tuesday, talking about the plans for camp and what he wants to see from the team and highlighting the focus on physicality the team will have this summer.
Asked about what message he has for the team on day one of camp, Hafley explained, “Getting back to how we want to practice. The competitiveness, eventually the physicality, which we’ll still have to wait until pads come on, but I want it to be competitive and I want them to feel a sense of urgency in that.”
Continuing, the first-year head coach turned to what he wants the fans to see of the team at training camp practices and in the three preseason games, saying, “I want them to see a physical team that that lays it on the line, that plays together, that has fun together and that can execute without making a lot of pre-snap, post-snap mistakes. A smart football team who plays as hard as they can for as long as they can and enjoys playing together, and that’s really important because those are the things that we can control.”
In recent years, the NFL has moved away from multiple physical, full-speed practices in the heat of the summer during training camp. Many teams, including the Dolphins under McDaniel, strayed from live tackling during workouts, looking to keep the players away from injury by avoiding direct contact. The Hafley Dolphins will swing back to bringing the contact.
“They do. They do. Are you excited about that? They do,” Hafley answered when asked if his practice plans include live tackling.
The Dolphins have been seen as a soft team that crumbles as soon as they are met with physicality for the last few years. Hafley clearly wants to shed that image, and he is going to be looking to ensure the fans see it during this summer’s training camp.
