The Miami Dolphins have brought in former Green Bay Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard to serve in the same role under Jeff Hafley.
New Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley has been building his staff, bringing in coaches he has crossed paths with during his longtime career, such as wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert.
Now, the Dolphins have brought in the first Packers assistant coach who worked with Hafley in Green Bay during the 2025 season.
Former Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard has been added to Hafley's staff and will serve in that same role for the Dolphins.
NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported on the news, stating:
Downard has over 10 years of experience as a coach, getting his start with Shawnee High School in 2012 as a defensive backs coach. He would transition into a job at the collegiate level a year later with Toledo as a graduate assistant.
Downard rose quickly, landing an NFL job with the Cleveland Browns as an assistant coach in 2014 and 2015. On top of being a coach, he served as director of football operations for Bowling Green before landing with the Packers in 2018.
Initially, Downard served as defensive quality coach before being promoted to assistant defensive backs coach, safeties coach, and finally as the full defensive backs coach.
Now, he joins Hafley as the new defensive backs coach for the Dolphins.
Hafley has added Tolbert as wide receivers coach, Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator, promoted Bobby Slowik to offensive coordinator, and hired Downard as defensive backs coach.
Since being introduced officially as the Dolphins' head coach last Thursday, Hafley has been getting busy with bringing in his new coaching staff. The only remaining big hire is the defensive coordinator.
Hafley revealed in that press conference that he would call plays on defense, which could make finding a coordinator a bit more difficult. Most coordinators might want to call their own plays, making it a bit harder to find someone to work with on the defensive side of the ball.
This is just speculation, as that is not always the case, but it could be a factor. Either way, Hafley is steadily busy bringing in his new staff that will usher in this new era of Dolphins football.