Former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley no longer calls Titletown his NFL address after taking the head-coaching gig for the Miami Dolphins. But just because that’s the case now doesn’t mean that the rivalry between Green Bay and the Chicago Bears has left his body.
That rivalry’s intensity ratcheted up in the 2025 NFL season, thanks in large part to Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who never shied away from showing his (competitive) hate for Matt LaFleur and Green Bay.
Hafley surely has not forgotten about those games against the Bears in the 2025 NFL season. Following one of those contests, Johnson went viral for his quick handshake with LaFleur, which Hafley seemingly referenced during a recent appearance on the “Up & Adams,” while discussing a potential rivalry with his former boss, LaFleur.
HC Jeff Hafley responds to close friend Matt LaFleur calling the Dolphins “Packers South”
Dolphins vs. Packers next season =🍿@MiamiDolphins | @packers | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/GmmbvVy9Jb
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) April 2, 2026
Ex-Packers DC Hafley seemed to take a jab at Bears’ Johnson
Here’s what Hafley told Kay Adams on the show:
But I love Matt. I’m grateful that Matt, you know, he offered me the job when I was a college head coach. I took it and, you know, two years later, I got to be a head coach, but I enjoyed my time with him. He’s a great coach and he’s a great friend and he’s a great person. But yeah, when we go to Lambeau, I’m not interested in any of that, but I’ll shake his hand and give him a hug after the game. It’s not going to be one of those.
As interesting it will be to see Hafley and LaFleur battle against each other in 2026, no one should be sleeping on the matchup between Hafley’s Dolphins and Johnson’s Bears in the coming season, especially in light of the new Miami head coach’s apparent shade.
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