As the NFL Scouting Combine unfolds, Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley pointed to his time with the San Francisco 49ers as a foundational influence entering his first season leading the franchise.
Hafley, who takes over in Miami for the 2026 season, reflected on his experience working under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch during an interview Tuesday with Jennifer Lee Chan of 49ers on NBC Sports Bay Area. He credited the alignment between Shanahan and Lynch as a blueprint he hopes to replicate with the Dolphins.
“Yes, absolutely. And that I’ve actually been thinking about a lot lately,” Hafley said. “The question was about San Francisco seeing the alignment there. When I got there it was Kyle’s first year… obviously John was the new GM and Kyle they’re coming in together and I thought that alignment was really strong.”
Hafley emphasized that the 49ers’ early struggles did not derail their long-term vision. Shanahan and Lynch began their tenure with an 0-9 start but remained unified in their approach.
“What people forget is that we started off 0-9 but they built it the right way and they built a really strong foundation,” Hafley said. “It just slowly the improvement, where then three years later they went to the Super Bowl. But just watching them together whether it was in football meetings or whether it was the draft process, two phenomenal human beings who are really good at what they do, who are lined up together who weren’t afraid to have hard conversations and disagree but at the end of the day they had each other’s back. And I think that’s one of the huge reasons why they’ve had success but 100% yes.”
#Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley still refers back to his time with #49ers Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch in how he plans to operate in his new role pic.twitter.com/jgw29ZhTYV
— Jennifer Lee Chan -all platforms: @jenniferleechan (@jenniferleechan) February 24, 2026
Jeff Hafley cites 49ers’ success as blueprint for Dolphins rebuild
Since 2017, San Francisco has made five postseason appearances under Shanahan, compiling an 82-67 regular-season record and a 9-5 playoff mark. The 49ers have reached two Super Bowls and four NFC Championship Games during that span, establishing themselves as one of the NFC’s most consistent contenders.
San Francisco finished the 2025 season with a 12-5 record before falling in the divisional round to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
That sustained success, built on collaboration between Shanahan and Lynch, is what Hafley now seeks to emulate in Miami. The Dolphins are attempting their own reset after missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, and Hafley has stressed alignment between coaching staff and front office as a central priority.
As Miami prepares for the 2026 season, Hafley’s blueprint is clear: build patiently, maintain organizational cohesion, and prioritize a long-term foundation — lessons drawn directly from the 49ers’ rise under Shanahan and Lynch.
