Is Sean Duggan Miami’s Next Big Thing?
In September 2017, the Dolphins’ new defensive coordinator, Sean Duggan, was in his second season as Hawaii’s linebackers coach. The Rainbow Warriors were 1–0 after a 38–35 win in the opener against UMass and were returning home to Honolulu to face Western Carolina, who were kicking off their own campaign.
He was standing quietly on the sideline watching Catamounts kicker Joshua Gibson line up for a field goal when sophomore defensive tackle Viane Moala broke through the line and blocked the kick. The sideline erupted, and Duggan, still just 24 years old at the time, ran onto the field to chest-bump the 6-foot-7, 304-pounder from American Samoa.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go as planned.
Moala’s helmet hit Duggan’s arm and knocked him to the ground, dislocating his elbow and fracturing his wrist. Although he stayed on the sideline for the rest of the game, he was forced to have surgery, returning to coaching at the Rose Bowl against UCLA the following week in a sling.
I tell this story because it underscores the sort of person Duggan is: young, high-intensity, full gas, no brakes. But also mature beyond his years – despite the chest bump – cerebral, adaptable, creative, and an outstanding communicator. He was widely viewed as Boston College’s most effective recruiter during his time there, and he’s always gelled easily with star players. Duggan is Jeff Hafley’s eyes and ears, his consigliere, having worked under him as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator at Boston College, and again as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach with the Packers.
As ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques reported back in February, hiring Duggan was a non-negotiable for Hafley. “Sean’s coming with me,” wrote Louis-Jacques about a conversation Miami’s new head man had with his former boss, Matt LaFleur.
Then, after the draft, Hafley underlined why he pushed so hard for him, explaining the importance of his new DC to Richard Sherman whilst a guest on his podcast: “I got a chance to bring Sean, which is so huge for me because he’s been with me for eight straight years. He knows the scheme inside and out, he knows how I think, he knows what I want. So what he’s done is organized it all for me. He’s presenting in front of the defense so I can go and work with the offense and be the head coach. I think he’s a star, and I’m very grateful he’s with me.”
So why this sudden burst of love for the 33-year-old?
Well, earlier this week, the excellent Jourdan Rodrigue wrote a piece in The Athletic about the potential breakout assistant coaches heading into the 2026/27 season. And right there was the man many observers believe will be a head coaching candidate in the NFL in the not-too-distant future: Sean Duggan.
“It’s always good to keep an eye on any assistants a new head coach brings with him to another team,” wrote Rodrigue. “And the Dolphins’ Jeff Hafley has clearly identified Duggan as one of ‘his’ guys. Duggan, now a coordinator for the first time at the pro level, was both a defensive assistant and a linebackers coach in Green Bay and also worked with Hafley previously at Boston College. The Dolphins are rebuilding, but Duggan could get some attention if the defense exceeds expectations.”
Now, the line, “if the defense exceeds expectations,” is doing some seriously heavy lifting because the expectations are pretty low for a unit lacking in star power, especially off the edge and across the secondary. But Duggan will get something of a pass if the unit is poor because he’s the defensive co-ordinator in name only: Hafley will call the plays and oversee the unit. So, in many regards, it’s a win-win for the former BC linebacker, and there are those in the building who are in lockstep with Rodrigue and believe that, within a couple of seasons, the Dolphins may find themselves fighting to retain one of the brightest young coaches and communicators in the game.
Just don’t let him chest-bump anyone!