MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins want quarterback Malik Willis to be a leader as they embark on a rebuild under general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley -- they just don’t need him to focus on that quite yet.
This week, the Dolphins began Phase 3 of their offseason program -- the culmination of the classroom and conditioning work they’ve been doing since April. These practices are centered around players learning a new scheme and re-learning certain fundamentals and techniques under a new staff, all while building chemistry with one another.
Miami’s offense is almost completely rebuilt from a season ago, including at the game’s most important position. Willis signed a three-year, $67.5 million contract this offseason because the Dolphins believe he can be their franchise quarterback. But as the team installs a new system and standard, Hafley said he doesn’t want his quarterback to obsess with the leadership aspect of his job.
“My main focus for him right now is to learn the scheme, get to know the players and not overdo the whole leadership thing,” Hafley said. “I mean, I think that’s my job and [the coaches’] job right now, so he can focus on becoming the best quarterback and the best player and the best teammate he can be.”
Willis was ESPN’s top-ranked free agent this offseason, despite only starting three games for the Green Bay Packers over the past two seasons. His appearances in Week 16 and 17 of last season were electric. He completed 9-of-11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in an overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, adding another 44 rushing yards on 10 attempts. Starting in place of the injured Jordan Love the following week, Willis completed 18-of-21 passes for 288 yards and a touchdown, with another 60 rushing yards and two more touchdowns in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
His time in Green Bay was a small sample size, but showed Willis’ marked growth from an uninspiring rookie season with the Tennessee Titans in 2022 (eight games, 50.8% completion percentage, 276 yards passing, 13.3 QBR). It was also enough for the Dolphins to commit to building an offense around the 26-year-old.
“[Willis is a] really talented individual. Can spin the ball all over the field, can throw the ball everywhere, can run, obviously, can use his legs,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “He’s tough, but honestly, what I’ve enjoyed the most so far is getting to know him. The person is really fun to be around. He’s really energetic. He infuses everybody with a lot of energy, just makes you want to kind of be involved in whatever he’s doing, and he’s been fun to coach.
“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.”
Willis called his experience n Miami so far “a blessing” and said he’s excited to continue getting to know his teammates; he’s also treated his offensive line to dinner -- an expensive tab that he was happy to pay, despite a left tackle and left guard who both clear 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds.
When asked on Tuesday, he echoed his coach’s sentiment on not trying to hard to be a leader at this stage, saying it will come with time.
And that it needs to be earned.
“It’s about building trust,” he 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.”
