Dolphins Head Coach Likens Sieler to NBA Point Guard

Dolphins Head Coach Likens Sieler to NBA Point Guard

A traditional basketball point guard is one of the more selfless positions one can play in all of professional sports. At its core, the job of a floor general is to conduct an offense and set up his teammates for easy baskets. That often means taking a backseat to others in the scoring column, and very few are both capable and willing to make such a sacrifice.

So when Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley compared star defensive end Zach Sieler to an NBA point guard in the sense that he’s a fantastic rushing table-setter for his teammates, that’s something that should not go unnoticed by fans. Hafley also noted that, like a traditional NBA floor general (think Rajon Rondo), his impact goes beyond merely the stat sheet (like his sack numbers) because of how much easier he makes the game for the other Dolphins defenders.

Sieler is a longtime Dolphins veteran, having been with the team since Brian Flores held the coaching reins in the 2019 season, and across his long tenure in Miami, his role has evolved from just a part-time starter to a defensive pillar and someone who’s capable of posting double digits in sacks in a season.

While it’s true that he posted only 5.5 sacks in 2025 and Hafley said he’ll look to get that number up, Sieler racked up 10 sacks apiece in the 2024 and 2023 seasons, and there should be optimism that he can hit that benchmark again in 2026.

But regardless of whether he ends up with 12 sacks on the season or just two, fans can rest assured that he’ll have an uber-impactful season nonetheless, because as Hafley highlighted, just like an NBA point guard, the entirety of his impact can’t be measured by statistics. The 30-year-old will surely play a point-guard-like role for the Dolphins once again in his eighth season with the team.