{"id":1025815,"date":"2026-10-12T20:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1025815\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T20:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:30:20","slug":"why-dolphins-coach-is-right-in-squashing-idea-of-benching-willis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1025815\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Dolphins Coach Is Right in Squashing Idea of Benching Willis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The question truly was ridiculous, except it needed to be asked because it’s fans are talking about it and would want to ask the question themselves, and journalists are conduits between fans and coaches.<\/p>\n

So it was that the first question in Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley’s regular day-after-the-game media session Monday was this: “Are you giving any thought to starting Kyle McCord against the Jets after the bye?”<\/p>\n

That would be quarterback Kyle McCord and the suggestion was whether Malik Willis’ performance and stats through five games and maybe even in the Week 5 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals was enough to considering making a change.<\/p>\n

But Hafley quickly, and absolutely correctly, shot down that notion.<\/p>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

And the thinking in saying so?<\/p>\n

“We’ve played five games, and Malik is our quarterback.”<\/p>\n

WHY THE RUSH TO JUDGMENT?<\/p>\n

During the remainder of his 20-minute session, Hafley was asked other questions about Willis and he made it clear that he expects better from his starting quarterback while also indicating that several factors are involved in the success \u2014\u00a0or lack thereof \u2014\u00a0of the passing game, such as pass protection and receivers running the correct routes and getting open.<\/p>\n

All of it is off right now, up to and including Willis.<\/p>\n

Before the Week 5 Monday night game, Willis was last among 29 qualifying quarterbacks in passer rating and completion percentage with only two touchdown passes against four interceptions.<\/p>\n

There is nobody who should be happy with Willis’ work so far this season or think it’s anywhere near good enough for him to even begin being considered as a long-term answer.<\/p>\n

But it’s been five games.<\/p>\n

Five games!<\/p>\n

And it’s five games with a young and sub-par supporting cast, one that’s been without it’s best player (De’Von Achane) for almost three games and without its most dynamic wide receiver at the moment (Caleb Douglas) for three-plus games.<\/p>\n

Remember when some folks were calling the Dolphins wide receiver corps about as bad a group as there’s been in the NFL in a long time? Well, that group always was about long-term potential and that potential has not been reached yet.<\/p>\n

And let’s also not pretend that Willis has benefited from great pass protection, either, because pressure is getting there in a hurry on a pretty regular basis.<\/p>\n

This isn’t to excuse everything that Willis has struggled with, but it absolutely does explain some of the poor numbers.<\/p>\n

“I think you guys are going to get tired of my answers however the questions are phrased, it’s everything,” Hafley said. “It’s a detail of the route running. It starts with the protection. It’s going through the progression. It’s everybody being on the same page, and everybody being more efficient in their 1\/11.”<\/p>\n

WHY STICK WITH WILLIS?<\/p>\n

But, of course, the quarterback is the one who’s going to be in the spotlight and Willis also is the one outside free agent the Dolphins signed all year for something beyond the minimum or almost-minimum salary.<\/p>\n

Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan talked about Willis in terms of handing him the keys to the offense and building around him, and so far that construction project is not looking very good.<\/p>\n

But would it make any sense whatsoever to give up after five games?<\/p>\n

Or even go with this idea of having Willis sit for a bit and give Kyle McCord a shot to see what he can do?<\/p>\n

Sure, the idea of McCord might be intriguing for those who liked him at Syracuse, but do we need to remind everyone that after the Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the sixth round of the 2025 draft, they waived him and then let him leave off their practice squad for Green Bay this year, only to have the Packers trade him to the Dolphins for a 2028 sixth-round pick?<\/p>\n

Again, let’s repeat that: 2028 sixth-round pick. Using the gauge of dropping a pick for every year down the road, that’s the equivalent of a 2026 eighth-round pick.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Packers don’t believe in keeping three QBs on their roster, but if they valued McCord, would they have basically just given him away like that, much the same way the Dolphins gave away Quinn Ewers?<\/p>\n

Maybe McCord will become a good NFL quarterback at some point, but the reality is it’s probably a long shot.<\/p>\n

And maybe the same holds true for Willis.<\/p>\n

Except that Willis actually has appeared in an NFL regular season game and he actually looked very good doing it during his time with the Packers, where Hafley and Sullivan also got to watch him first-hand on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

What’s happened so far in the 2026 season probably isn’t what they had in mind or hoped, but suggesting for even a millisecond they would give up on Willis this quickly bordered on ridiculous.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins have 12 games remaining in the 2026 regular season and that’s plenty of time for things to change, to get better with Willis, the passing game and the entire offense.<\/p>\n

None of it is good enough right now. But the Dolphins don’t have to make any decisions right now as it applies to 2027 and they owe it to Willis and more importantly to themselves to give him a chance to show what he can do.<\/p>\n

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