Dolphins HC doesn’t want Malik Willis to “overdo the whole leadership thing”

[Mickey the Mouth]

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley speaks to quarerback Malik Willis on the first day of OTAs Tuesday. May 19, 2026, at the Baptist Health Training Center in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

It’s no secret that the 2026 Miami Dolphins are going to look a whole lot different than they have in recent years.


For starters, they have hired a new general manager — Jon-Eric Sullivan — who has taken a wrecking ball to the team’s roster in order to rebuild a squad that saw their record go from 11-6 in 2023, to 8-9 in 2024, and down to 7-10 last season. As a result, Mike McDaniel was sent packing in favor of a new head coach — Jeff Hafley. What about the quarterback position? Tua Tagovailoa was given a major payday by former general manager Chris Grier, only to be cut by Sullivan to the tune of a record $99.2 million dead cap hit. To replace the former #5 overall pick, Miami signed former Titans and Packers backup, Malik Willis to a three-year deal.


Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN released an article on Saturday detailing Miami’s expectations for their new signal-caller. Hafley knows what he has in Willis — the two spent the past couple of seasons working closely in Green Bay — so he doesn’t want his starting quarterback focused on the wrong things at this juncture of the offseason.

“My main focus for him right now is to learn the scheme, get to know the players and not overdo the whole leadership thing. I mean, I think that’s my job and [the coaching staff’s] job right now, so he can focus on becoming the best quarterback and the best player and the best teammate he can be.”

Miami’s offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik, agrees.

“We’re in the early stages of the scheme stuff, that takes a back seat right now. Most of our talks right now are like fundamentals, and he’s all about what we’re doing. It’s very similar to what he did in Green Bay and we’re just having a lot of fun right now.”

How does Willis feel about the organization’s plan of easing him into a position of leadership?

“It’s about building trust,” Willis said. “I mean, every play we go out there, whether it’s calling the play, whether it’s executing the play, whether it’s making sure somebody else can get lined up, you build that over time. I don’t think you just put somebody in a position to say, ‘Okay, you’re the leader now.’ You got to earn that.”

For Marcel Louis-Jacques’ entire article, click here.

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