If there’s anything Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley proved today, it’s that he’s a man of his word. Ahead of their joint practice with the New York Giants at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens, a reporter asked him, “What’s the message to your team today so that it doesn’t turn into a melee?” Never missing a beat, Hafley dropped a strict warning along with a message on the culture he wants to build in South Florida.
“It’s the same thing that I say every day to the team. 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’s not tough. And I told him, 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, you’re going to be able to see it. It’s not part of the game. So, I’ll be really disappointed. If a guy throws a punch, he’s out. We haven’t had that happen in our practice much. And the other thing is, I told him, I think there’s a brotherhood in the NFL. You got to respect that all these guys right now, these 180 players, they’re all trying to earn a job. 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? I’ve seen it, I get it, it gets chippy. It’s going to be hot out there. But if you want to find out who’s really tough, find the guy who walks back to the huddle, lines up and goes at it next play. I will be really, really, disappointed. Could it happen? Sure. I will be very disappointed and it will be addressed immediately if it happens.”
GLENDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 01: San Francisco 49ers Defensive Backs coach Jeff Hafley talks into his Bose headset during the NFL American Football Herren USA game between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers at the University of Phoenix Stadium on October 1, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire) NFL: OCT 01 49ers at Cardinals PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxDENxONLY Icon164100117249549Little did Jeff Hafley know, he’d have to put those words into action just hours later. Per videos circulating on social media, at least two fights broke out during the joint practice between the Dolphins and the Giants.
“First a minor tiff on one field, then a full-on skirmish on the other as Dolphins and Giants get chippy,” wrote Fox Sports’ Greg Auman on X. “Jameis Winston hurries into the scrum for a shove and got pulled out by multiple defensive linemen. Giants assistant knocked to the ground trying to break it up.”
In one of the videos circulating online, Dolphins’ offensive tackle Austin Jackson can be seen throwing a punch at a Giants player. Giants’ defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, in turn, grabbed Jackson and threw him down on the ground as both teams gathered around. True to his word, Hafley kicked Jackson out of practice immediately.
Even Giants head coach John Harbaugh had noted hours before the practice that he’d spoken with Jeff Hafley to establish strict guidelines to keep both teams’ players safe. These rules pertained to not making any “blindside shots” to their quarterbacks or anybody else.
August 15, 2026: Before the game, New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh looks toward the stand in a NFL, American Football Herren, USA preseason game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The Minnesota Vikings defeat the New York Giants 13-10. /Cal Media East Rutherford USA – ZUMAc04_ 20260815_faf_c04_174 Copyright: xShaquanxWoodyx“We’ll have rules of engagement, we’ll call it,” Harbaugh said, per SB Nation’s Ed Valentine. “Talked to Coach Hafley. He talks to his team. We talk to our team. We have the same rules of engagement.”
But something like that is very hard to put into practice. Fights like these have become commonplace at the training camp as the 2026 NFL season draws ever closer. Just days before, the Dallas Cowboys also got into seven different fights during their joint practice with the New Orleans Saints.
Dallas’ outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected from the practice for throwing a punch. Cornerback Caelen Carson also got into a scuffle with Saints wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner; Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson intervened by tackling Rechsteiner, but the rookie wide receiver responded by delivering a suplex on Thompson.
As for the Dolphins, Hafley had already delivered a similar warning a week before, ahead of their joint practice with the Washington Commanders. “We don’t have time for that,” Hafley had said, noting that the team’s focus should be on playing physical. The Dolphins lost their first preseason game against them 20-7. Tempers were already flying high after that, and practice with the Giants is where it all boiled over.
Jeff Hafley, the first-time NFL head coach, needs his team to channel this energy on the gridiron when they face the Giants for their second preseason game this weekend. The preseason results won’t hurt or help their 2026 campaign. But if the teams cannot keep their tempers in check on game day, both sides risk serious injury that could derail their regular season long before September arrives.
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