Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach candidate Jeff Hafley has emerged as a frontrunner for another vacancy, according to a report by NFL Network.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported on Saturday that Hafley has emerged as the top candidate for the Miami Dolphins job.
Hafley is interviewing virtually with the Steelers on Saturday, as the team seeks a replacement for Mike Tomlin, following his resignation on Tuesday.
That interview was initially reported as expected to take place on Friday, before being pushed back a day. It remains unclear if the Steelers completed their interview with Hafley. The team is not and has not acknowledged completions of virtual interviews, as some other teams have done.
The Steelers and other teams can begin in-person interviews with coaches from playoff teams that have been eliminated beginning on Monday, Jan. 19.
Hafley, the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator, is one of eight coaches the Steelers have requested to interview. A Montvale, New Jersey native, Hafley spent five years as an assistant coach at Pitt early in his career and has a unique resume among potential Steelers coaches.
At the NFL level, Hafley has had a fairly normal career track, starting as an assistant defensive backs coach. Like Tomlin, Hafley played wide receiver at the FCS leave in college, but has mostly coached defensive backs. He also got his pro start with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hafley spent two seasons in Tampa, two with the Cleveland Browns and two with the San Francisco 49ers as defensive backs coach before his current stint as the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
But in between, Hafley returned to college, spending one year as defensive coordinator at Ohio State and four seasons as the head coach at Boston College, giving him both head coaching experience and NFL defensive coordinator experience, but also making him a first-time head coach prospect at the NFL level.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Off the Board? Steelers Head Coach Target Becomes Frontrunner for Another Job
