Dolphins HC Jeff Hafley Makes Malik Willis Decision After 0-5 Start

The Miami Dolphins handed Malik Willis a three-year, $67.5 million contract to be their starting quarterback, even if only for the 2026 season.

He was the best quarterback on the free agent market and had shown glimpses during his time in Green Bay. But five games in, the Dolphins still haven’t won, and Willis has struggled.

He has completed just 56.2% of his passes for 849 yards and two touchdowns, all of which rank dead last among starting NFL quarterbacks, and he has thrown four interceptions. He has rushed for 186 yards, the third-most among quarterbacks, but it hasn’t made a difference with Miami still searching for its first win.

Head coach Jeff Hafley still isn’t wavering. When reporters asked him Monday whether he’s considering benching Willis, he emphatically shut down the idea.

"We’ve played five games and Malik is our quarterback," Hafley said. "We need to be better. Malik needs to be better, OK? And that’s not the headline. The headline is we all need to be better, and I mean that ... I have confidence in the coaches, I have confidence in the players that we have. We will work through that and we will get better. It’s been five weeks."

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The Dolphins came into this season with one of the lowest projected win totals in the NFL. They have a first-year head coach, a new general manager, a quarterback who has only started a handful of games and one of the youngest rosters in the league, including 13 rookies from this year’s draft. They also just lost all of their core players from the last decade, including Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb and Minkah Fitzpatrick. The fact that they’re still 0-5 isn’t overly surprising.

It’s also not entirely Willis’ fault. The defense has allowed the ninth-most points in the NFL (26.4 per game) and has just four takeaways through five games, tied for the third-lowest mark. Willis also hasn’t had much of a run game to take pressure off him, with De’Von Achane out for the year with a torn ACL. Malik Washington is his top pass catcher, followed by first-year players Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas.

The Dolphins are likely going to ride with Willis for the rest of the way unless he completely collapses down the stretch. If Hafley were to bench him, Kyle McCord would step in. McCord was a sixth-round pick in 2025 but has yet to play in a regular season NFL game.

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