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Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was the Ben Johnson of this year’s loaded head coaching cycle. After firing former head coach Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins conducted dozens of interviews before finally landing the most sought-after first-time head coach in the league. “Dolphins are hiring former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their head coach,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. “Hafley completed his second interview with the team today and will be their new head coach.” ESPN Sources: Dolphins are hiring former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their head coach. Hafley completed his second interview with the team today and will be their new head coach. pic.twitter.com/SCXhKvQsO7 — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2026 Hafley follows new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan to Miami. Sullivan spent 22 years in Green Bay instilling the Super Bowl championship roots. Hafley spent just two years, quickly climbing the coaching ranks after being hired as the Packers’ defensive coordinator in 2024. Jeff Hafley Coaching Resume Hafley’s coaching career began in the early 2000’s with nearly a decade spent at the college level. His first NFL coaching job came with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hafley spent two seasons coaching the defensive backs. Hafley reprised the same role with the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers for five seasons before going back to the college coaching scene. He then took the job of defensive coordinator at Boston College, where he stayed for four seasons before eventually being hired by the Packers. With the Packers, he made a name for himself as one of, if not the top, defensive coordinators in the NFL. In 2024, his first year with the job, his defense allowed less than 100 yards of rushing per game and ended the year as a top-10 total defense. The defensive stats took a step back in 2025 as the team struggled with countless injuries. His reputation was not damaged by Green Bay’s regression, as made evident by nearly every team with a head coaching vacancy reaching out to him for an interview. Like Heavy Sports's content? Be sure to follow us. This article was originally published on Heavy SportsThe post Miami Dolphins Hire Most Sought After First Time Head Coach, Jeff Hafley appeared first on Heavy Sports.

One year into his main roster run, WWE Superstar Penta is one of the focal points of Netflix’s Unreal Season 2, which premieres on Jan. 20. It’s clear that Penta was so excited to join WWE. He had wrestled for other promotions for nearly 20 years before finally making his way to WWE, which was always his ultimate goal. “WWE is the best company in the universe,” Penta raved while talking to ClutchPoints about Unreal Season 2,” because everything there is very special, everything there is very professional, like Penta. I think this synergy, [where] we make it together, is very special for me.” Ultimately, he wants to show the wrestling world “who [the] real Penta [is].” In about a year, he has done just that during his main roster run. He instantly became one of their most popular stars, and he hasn’t looked back. Despite how much he built it up, WWE has yet to disappoint Penta. Sometimes, things can disappoint after dreaming about it. However, that is not the case here: “I feel very happy to work [with] WWE.” Filming WWE Unreal Season 2 was the next step in his evolution A still from WWE Unreal Season 2 courtesy of Netflix. Some Superstars — like Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch — aren’t big fans of the filming process of Unreal. The Netflix series is a behind-the-scenes docuseries about the creative process of WWE. The first season followed the build-up to WrestleMania 41. Season 2 picks up right after the “Showcase of the Immortals” and follows the path to SummerSlam in August. Penta, a luchador, respects the secrecy that professional wrestling traditionally has. However, Unreal runs the risk of asking him to go against tradition. Fear not — he doesn’t unmask in the series, but he does allow access to his wrestling school and familial relationships (namely with his daughter). It may have taken some adjusting, but Penta seems at peace with his decision to be in WWE Unreal, even if he found it “weird.” He considers himself “old school,” but unlike some “old school” talent, he’s willing to “evolve” with the times. “I feel really weird because in Mexico, my culture, my mask, everything here is different in the United States,” said Penta. “But now, I understand the world evolves, and I need to evolve too with this business, right? “My old school side is like, Why are you recording me when, for example, I [do my] makeup? or, Why are you recording me when I put the mask [on]? But now I understand what the business and the market [are],” he continued. Will he wrestle with his daughter? In Unreal Season 2, Penta is shown teaching aspiring wrestlers at his school. One of his pupils is his 11-year-old daughter, who may have a future in the business. Does Penta, 40, intend on continuing to wrestle long enough to share the ring with his daughter? We’ve seen other luchadors, most notably Rey Mysterio with his son, Dominik, do it before. “Of course, bro,” Penta said about wanting to wrestle long enough to eventually team up with his daughter, with a wide grin. “It’s my dream.” It will take a lot of work, but the WWE Superstar seems confident in his daughter’s abilities. His daughter was ready to join the WWE roster with him. “No, you need to go to school,” he responded to his young daughter. So, she has been putting in the work, earning her stripes. “She [is] training every day here in my school and my gym,” he explained. “To be honest, I [was] so proud when I saw my daughter follow my steps.” He added that this is his “legacy,” and passing it down to his daughter would be a dream come true. Fans will have to wait a few years, but there’s a chance Penta and his daughter make their entrance together someday. Being the “first” Penta, not the next Rey Mysterio Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images When Penta first joined WWE, it was easy to point to him as the next Rey Mysterio. WWE has been trying to find a successor to Mysterio for years, from Sin Cara to Dragon Lee. However, while Penta has a lot of respect for Mysterio,…

A temptation to demolish everything is understandable for a new front office inheriting a roster stuck between Zion Williamson’s injury timelines, win-now expectations, and the NBA’s unforgiving middle. However, a full teardown centered solely on Trey Murphy III is neither realistic nor advisable for the stuck-in-place New Orleans Pelicans. The notion of stripping to the studs to rebuild solely around the 25-year-old is a path fraught with competitive and logistical pitfalls. Strategically retooling, not a ground-up reconstruction, is a more viable pathway to a top-six reward. The core issue is of potential ceiling. While Murphy III has developed into a premier floor-spacing wing and occasional disruptive defender, the history of the league is clear on the archetype. Players with multiple All-Star and All-NBA honors by age 25 have often faltered as the definitive number-one option on a contender. Murphy III’s excellence is complementary, a crucial piece of a championship puzzle, but not its centerpiece. A teardown to feature him would likely yield another NBA Play-In Tournament-level squad. Being too good for top draft lottery odds, but lacking the top-end talent to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs is a story the fans know all too well. Still, this is not a roster that needs to be imploded. David Griffin’s front office made mistakes, but it has also assembled enough talent and contractual flexibility for Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver to pivot rather than detonate. Regardless of how their summer trades were panned, there is still a way to make things work with the current core. The Pelicans practically have to given the lack of reasonable offers for Zion Williamson. A Zion trade now would be about risk mitigation, not a franchise-resetting package. The same applies to Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray, whose value is capped by inconsistent play and looming contract decisions. That reality alone makes a complete rebuild impractical. New Orleans would likely exit such a process with fewer elite assets than it currently has while burning prime developmental years for Murphy III and Derik Queen in the process. More importantly, the Pelicans do not need to rebuild to find a path forward. Williamson looks healthy and dominant when available. Queen is ahead of schedule. Murphy III is enjoying a career year. The Pelicans still possess enough movable salaries and draft capital to chase a distressed All-Star like Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball. Shedding surplus to requirement salaries to reshape the narrative completely is worth the gamble, even if it’s for Cam Thomas and not Lauri Markkannen. Pelicans planning for next season Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images There is a clear and viable way to construct a contender with Murphy III as the second-best player, even if Williamson is ultimately not part of the long-term picture. Murphy III’s shooting, length, and defensive versatility are ideally suited to complement a dynamic lead creator. Ja Morant, Zach LaVine, Cam Thomas, and other perimeter scorers would all fit into the starting lineup seamlessly, perhaps more naturally than Williamson’s space-consuming, non-shooting interior game. The most straightforward path forward lies in retooling around a Williamson-Murphy tandem. Finding another postseason-caliber starter and a bench contributor who fits better than Poole and Murray is a priority. The longer they remain on the roster, the further this rebuild gets pushed into an uncertain future. New Orleans cannot afford that headache. Veterans chasing contract extensions inevitably siphon minutes and usage away from the rookies. Queen and Jeremiah Fears show promise as building blocks, but they’re raw rookies needing years to mature. They should be the backbone of an energetic bench unit next season. Still, getting a handful of second-round picks and expiring contracts for Poole and Murray is better than holding onto players who don’t fit the timeline. The Pelicans are being…

The Chicago Bears lost the NFC Divisional Round game vs. the Los Angeles Rams in heartbreaking fashion. They were a single completion away from attempting a game-winning field goal. Facing a 2nd-and-8 at the Rams’ 48, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams threw his third interception of the game. Los Angeles proceeded to move the ball down the field and kick the game-winning field goal themselves. But all of the talk in Chicago has been about the misconnection between Williams and Moore. On Monday, the Bears’ quarterback opened up about what went wrong on that fateful play, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “Small things like that that show up in those moments that you may not have talked about, being on the same page, maybe you talked about it in Week 1 or Week 6, and it shows up in [Week 20],” Williams said. This one will hurt for a bit. Caleb Williams said postgame that he thought DJ Moore would flatten his route on the OT pick. There was a ton of space and it likely would’ve been the kill shot from the Bears. pic.twitter.com/gZ00kgfnT0 — Depressed Bears Fan (@DepBearsFan) January 19, 2026 “You know, it’s something to learn from for myself, a learning experience, it’s something for us to learn from as an offense and as a team. We’ll go do that at some time.” Following the loss, Williams acknowledged that he thought Moore was going to flatten the route. That would have brought him more across the field and not as deep. Instead, he continued the post pattern, while Rams cornerback Kam Curl made a diving play on the ball. Fans and television pundits were quick to criticize Moore for seemingly giving up on the play. Nevertheless, it was a hugely successful season for the Bears. The Ben Johnson hire seems to have worked overnight, and Williams took a massive step forward in his second year in the NFL. The future is bright in Chicago for the first time in a very long time. The post Bears QB Caleb Williams reflects on fatal overtime miscommunication with DJ Moore appeared first on ClutchPoints.