MIAMI GARDENS — Jeff Hafley knows the Miami Dolphins will need every edge possible in 2026. And not just every physical edge, either. All through this offseason as the new coaching staff has tried to mold this team, coaches have preached a mental edge, which requires players to not only use their heads, but keep their cool.
Before the joint practice with the New York Giants, Hafley said he constantly reminds players of the importance of composure.
It’s easier said than done, especially when the heat index hits triple digits, as it did Thursday morning. As if on cue there were three (or by a looser count, four) instances of the teams needing to be separated. To classify the incidents as “fights” would be a bit much, although at one point, a Giants player decked Dolphins right tackle Austin Jackson. And near the end of the two-plus hours of practice, the Giants’ Jameis Winston, conveniently wearing a quarterback’s red, non-contact jersey, was among the instigators as New York’s offense and Miami’s defense had a coming together amid shoves that sent one man, possibly a Giants assistant coach, to the ground.
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It was often unclear who were the chief instigators. Even if blame is split 50-50, that still would mean Dolphins players had a couple of chances to walk away and chose the path Hafley warned against.
Asked if players could expect to feel Hafley’s wrath, center Aaron Brewer said, “Ain’t no telling.”
To be clear, the incidents cannot be compared to what happened earlier this week when the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints had a joint practice marred by a handful of fights — too many for reporters to count. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer deadpanned, “Right now, I’m in charge of fight club.”
Speaking at his pre-practice news conference, Hafley could not have been more clear on his attitude toward fighting.
“That’s not tough,” Hafley said. “Like anybody who’s been around me and watched us play, I want to toe the line and I want to play physical and I want to be tough, but fighting is not tough. And I told them, if you’re frustrated with a guy and you get pushed or shoved, tell him I’ll see you next play. And then go play the next play and do it again. That’s tough. That’s mentally tough, right?
“Because in a game, what’s going to happen when you get frustrated? You’re going to get thrown out of a game? If you throw a punch, you’re gone. Especially now with the new rules that are going to be able to see it. I mean, it’s not part of the game. So I’ll be really disappointed. If a guy throws a punch, he’s out.”
Austin Jackson yanked for part of practice but returns
Jackson, in fact, was yanked for a chunk of practice but returned late, after J.C. Davis, who appeared to throw a punch early on, had returned for the Giants.
Brewer had Jackson’s back following the practice.
“He definitely kept his composure, but as I said, if somebody is coming to you, hits you in your mouth, what are you gonna do?” Brewer said. “You gonna stand there and look at them, or you gonna respond?”
Brewer said if it had been a game, “I definitely expect him to hold his composure.”
Running back Ollie Gordon II lost his composure in the preseason opener for just a moment. A moment was all it took. Gordon was slapped with a 15-yard conduct penalty, then pulled aside by Hafley.
“It’s disrespectful to the team,” Hafley said. “It’s selfish, and it’s how you lose games. I’m not going to play players that can’t control themselves and get us 15-yard penalties.”
Hafley appealed to players by citing mutual respect within the league.
“I think there’s a brotherhood in the NFL that you got to respect that all these guys right now, these 180 players, they’re all trying to earn a job,” he said of the combined New York/Miami rosters. “And there should be a mutual respect about the guys in this league on how hard they’re working to get a job. You’re being evaluated by both staffs today, right? And you want to try to fight and hurt a guy on the other team?”
Jacob Rodriguez, Dolphins rookie linebacker, got the message.
“Obviously, you don’t ever want there to be a fight,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think that’s football. That’s not tough. It’s never what you want to see on the football field.”
Hal Habib covers the Miami Dolphins for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at HHabib@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jeff Hafley demands mental toughness; Dolphins tested in joint practice
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Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
