Can De’Von Achane Be the Leader Miami Needs?

Can De’Von Achane Be the Leader Miami Needs?

When it comes to leadership, the Dolphins are still figuring things out. It’s always difficult when you have an organizational shake-up in the way Miami did this offseason. The status quo of previous years has been erased, and honesty, that’s a good thing. 

It’s no secret that the Mike McDaniel-led Dolphins struggled with accountability. Let us not forget just last season, Bradley Chubb let it be known that the team was being dishonest about the supposed cultural shift in 2024. 

“I’m going to say last year, we were lying, honestly, point blank, period. We felt it. We put our toe in the water, but we didn’t dive all the way in.” He said. “We didn’t get all the way there with each other. We weren’t making the effort to go the extra mile, and I would say this year, we’re doing that.” 

Despite his reassurances that the team was actually moving forward as a unified group last season, the Dolphins looked as lost as ever. While that does fall upon McDaniel and was undoubtedly a huge reason for his firing, the blame didn’t stop there. Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa, and Bradley Chubb himself were all released this offseason. Each of them was playing under huge deals in 2025 and, as such, should have been the ones holding the team together and leading. Their dismissal is damning but does show that the organization is committed to shaking things up. 

So who can emerge as the new leader for Miami? Well, look no further than the latest player to get a big extension in De’Von Achane. Achane is fresh off a career year in 2025 and was rewarded with a 4-year $64 million extension. With the new money comes new expectations to be a leader, which Jeff Hafley was asked about during his press conference on Wednesday. 

“Our first conversation that we had, I thought went great.” He said. “I just got to know him. I had a good conversation, just talked about a lot of different things. I don’t recall how I told him I needed him to be a leader, whether it was vocal, whether it was one way or the other. I think everybody leads different, and we need our best players to lead whatever way that they can. Whether it’s how he practices, whether it’s how he grabs a guy one-on-one, whether he is loud out on the field, we need our best players to lead, and I’m excited for him to do that.” 

For Achane’s part he’s committed to winning, despite the low expectations for this season. In an appearance on The Set hosted by former Dolphin Terron Armstead, Achane made it clear that he doesn’t view this season as a rebuilding year. 

“Everybody keeps saying about this rebuild year… I ain’t got time for it… no, I ain’t trying to do it.” He said. “I wanna win the division. We gotta win a playoff game… We just have to get those things done first.” 

Is his confidence delusional? Perhaps, but some of the greatest leaders suffered from their fair share of delusions. To be great, you must believe that greatness is possible. The younger players aren’t going to believe if the veterans don’t believe. So count me as a believer in Achane as a leader, and hopefully the Dolphins will surprise us in 2025.