\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_Jackson_Barry_mug.jp_2_1_GDETHNSG_L434902367.JPG\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:<\/p>\n
\u25aa This week marked the first time the most prominent members of the Dolphins\u2019 hierarchy explained what they see in Malik Willis. Both general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley offered cogent insight:<\/p>\n
Sullivan: \u201cMalik is an ascending player. It was important for us to get him on a three-year deal. We want to build around him. It\u2019s not a Band-Aid. He\u2019s got to go play, and he knows this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sullivan wants to see continued growth in Willis \u201cgetting fluid with his reads\u201d and \u201ctaking care of the football.\u201d<\/p>\n
What Sullivan loves is \u201che\u2019s got an elite arm. He\u2019s a very, very good athlete. Big, strong, powerful body. He can make plays with his legs. It\u2019s a matter of taking care of the ball and getting more fluid playing the position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafley: \u201cHe\u2019s an unbelievable player\u2026 really confident and nothing wavers the guy. He\u2019s super athletic; big, too. He\u2019s 225 pounds jacked up and can run, but people aren\u2019t giving him enough credit for how accurate he is, especially down the field. He can throw the football; he can throw it from the pocket, he can throw it really accurate down the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Willis last season completed all seven of his passes that traveled at least 20 air yards.)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just hasn\u2019t played a lot, he\u2019s only 25; some of these guys in the draft are older than him,\u201d Hafley said. \u201cIt\u2019s like getting a young quarterback who we know, and we have a great relationship with, we just have to get him experience and have him develop over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafley also likes his leadership skills: \u201cHe\u2019s humble. He\u2019s got this way about him where he connects with his teammates. It\u2019s the way he treats people. It\u2019s the way he works, which to me is probably more important than anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe type of person that he is, the type of worker that he is, the way he\u2019ll treat the media, the way he\u2019ll treat his teammates and the way he\u2019ll be with his coaches and his teammates — I\u2019m excited for you guys to experience that.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does Hafley want to see from Willis?<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Malik to come in and be himself. I don\u2019t want him to change on or off the field because he\u2019s an incredible human, and I think he\u2019s got great leadership qualities that guys will rally around. I\u2019ve seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa What would Sullivan\u2019s message be to fans who want to know how long this process could take?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to do everything in our power to build this the right way,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a crystal ball. I can\u2019t tell you how fast it\u2019s going to happen. Regardless of what the scoreboard says, you will see upward trend in short order. Eventually, you are going to see a lot of Ws next to the Dolphins on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Why is Sullivan averse to calling this a rebuild?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to win,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe\u2019re here to win every time we line up…. Obviously, two years from now, three years from now \u2014 we have multiple draft classes under us, and we\u2019ve been able to be a little more active in free agency. [And] you can draw your own conclusions, but we\u2019re here to be competitive day in and day out, and we\u2019re here to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole rebuild, retool thing, I don\u2019t believe in that. I think it sends a terrible message to the locker room. Those guys that are in that locker room feel like they\u2019re going to have a chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Sullivan\u2019s transparency, and willingness to explain his vision to fans, has been refreshing. This pretty much sums up the approach with free agency:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we were going to try to go after Malik when we did that. We got that, and after that, we stayed disciplined. We didn\u2019t go make any more big [pickups]. We\u2019ll build through the draft. We\u2019ll target difference-makers in free agency. If we don\u2019t land those difference-makers, we\u2019re not going to check a box to check a box. We\u2019re going to stay disciplined.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you can build through the draft, stay young, you have a lot of really good players on rookie contracts and that allows you to be successful over time. You can pay the guys that become difference-makers for you, your core players, and then you can be selective in free agency and who you target.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you try to build a team in free agency, you\u2019re swimming in dangerous waters. It\u2019s set up to overpay. That is what we are bringing through the door here.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, he said, \u201cnext year we will have more flexibility in free agency to grow this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Bush Hamdan, the new quarterback coach, has spent only one of his 16 seasons in the NFL \u2014 as the Falcons\u2019 quarterback coach in 2017 before he returned to college at Washington. He was Kentucky\u2019s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past two years before joining Mississippi State, last December, as associate head coach for offense.<\/p>\n
He left that job after two months to join Hafley\u2019s staff in Miami.<\/p>\n
Hamdan had a \u201creally good interview, really good recommendations,\u201d Hafley said. \u201c[Offensive coordinator] Bobby Slowik came to me with his name, him and Bobby had a lot of conversations. He had been in the NFL with the Falcons, he had coached Matt Ryan when he was younger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had called plays, which was important to me. I loved his demeanor, and I think he was excited to get back into the NFL. So with him and Bobby kind of in that room, I think they\u2019ll be a really good team together.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2023 at Boise State, Hamden was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Arkansas draft prospect Taylen Green, who is taking a predraft 30 visit with Miami.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Quick stuff: Sullivan said \u201cMalik Washington is a really good player. He can do a lot of different things. Very good with the ball in his hands.\u201d\u2026 The Dolphins and 49ers will play in Mexico City this season, NBC Sports Bay Area reported…<\/p>\n
Hafley on quarterback Quinn Ewers: \u201cI like Quinn. Quinn is one of the first guys that reached out to me when I got the job. I thought Quinn did a really good job at the end of the year. Do everything in your power like any other player to show us that you are the best player at your position, and then our job is to play the best player to win games. And that\u2019s exactly what I would say to Quinn.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 9:30 AM.<\/p>\n