Dolphins’ Hafley explains why he’s sticking with Willis and what must change

Miami Dolphins admin October 12, 2026 0 Comments

Dolphins’ Hafley explains why he’s sticking with Willis and what must change

Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley indicated Monday that he’s not giving any consideration to replacing quarterback Malik Willis.

Asked if he is giving any thought to starting backup quarterback Kyle McCord against the Jets after the bye? “No.”

Why not? “We’ve played five games and Malik is our quarterback,” Hafley said, ending his response there.

After another question about Willis (pertaining to one of his quarterback scrambles), Hafley interjected this: “Malik needs to be better. That’s not the headline. We all need to be better. We ran the ball for 200 yards against a really good team. Everybody in the pass game has to be better — the receivers, the offensive line, the quarterback, the coaches, the tight ends. It’s a team game. We all have to be better. We will get better.”

Among 19 quarterbacks who have started all five games, Willis is last in passer rating (68.4) and completion percentage (56.2) and touchdown passes thrown (two) and passing yards per game (169.8) and first downs passing (35).

Is Willis doing well enough with his progressions and decision-making?

“There are some you see yesterday [that] it’s great and times it needs to be better,” Hafley said. “We need to get the right route run at the right depth. There were flashes, the two-minute drive at the end of the half and the drive at the end of the game, where he looked aggressive and comfortable.”

Though Hafley ruled out a quarterback change, he wouldn’t rule out making other personnel changes.

Hafley addressed other issues:

▪ Jonah Savaiinaea, who left for good in the second quarter, has an ankle injury and Hafley said “he’s doing OK.” Hafley said “I was impressed” with Jarrett Kingston, who filled in at right guard.

▪ Cornerback JuJu Brents left the game three different times – once for concussion symptoms and twice because of a stinger. He was cleared of a concussion, returned, sustained a stinger, returned to the game again, then sustained another stinger and left for good.

“He should walk away from that game feeling confident,” Hafley said. “It was one of his best games.”

▪ Hafley said rookie cornerback Chris Johnson “had a solid game. I see the confidence overall just growing… This was a big test for him and overall, he answered it pretty well. I love the confidence and energy he’s playing with.”

▪ On the unsuccessful Tush Push play that was stopped well short of a touchdown, Hafley said Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence “definitely jumped the snap count. We have to mix up the count. He did a good job. He’s a massive human being. When he jumped over, it was not going to end well.”

The Dolphins this season are 1 for 2 when they deploy the Tush Push, a play in which players lined up behind Willis push him as he tries to pick up yards.

▪ Rookie defenders Kyle Louis and Trey Moore won’t practice this week, Hafley said. He didn’t want to speculate on next week. Both are now eligible to return off injured reserve. Moore isn’t expected back until later in the season.

▪ Defensive lineman Kenneth Grant, coming off a toe injury, played 16 defensive snaps in his first game of the season and “was solid, getting his feet wet. We have to get him back practicing more, playing more because we’re going to need him.”

▪ The Dolphins didn’t have a sack for the fourth time in five games. Hafley said one reason is that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow released the ball quickly. But Hafley said he needs to come up with ways to try to generate more pressure.

▪ Hafley said “there should have been two people” covering Ja’Marr Chase on his spectacular 45-yard touchdown catch. Was there anything Jason Marshall Jr. could have done differently defending him?

“If he went up there with his left [hand], he would have been more in front of him,” Hafley said. “The guy made a great catch. I’m not saying anything negative about Marshall. We should have had two people there.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 3:11 PM.