Part 2 of the bye week Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:
From Salvador A’Asseo:
Alain, why do you think everyone (fans, local media) are so desperate to have an opinion and to prove “they are right” about this team and Malik and who to draft. As bad as it is, it’s just five weeks over one season, no??
Hey Salvador, you are absolutely right in that it’s only been five weeks, but this is 2026 and everybody (myself included) needs to have a take on every important topic, whether it be Malik Willis, Jeff Hafley, anything.
From Dave Koziol:
Would love to ask Hafley what he seen in his time in Green Bay in regards to Willis that he is not seeing now because this can’t be the guy he seen on a daily basis & decided to bring here with him.
Hey Dave, it’s possible that the answer would be that he doesn’t have anywhere near the supporting cast he had in Green Bay and therefore figures he needs to do much, and at times is trying too hard to make something happen instead of just settling for the simple decision.
From Dave Campbell:
Greetings Alain! Doubting Willis’ ability to be a starting QB. Couple of grumpy old man questions, but always a fan. Is it the previously fired OC? Is it the previously fired passing coordinator? At least Chargers are 0-5 too. Thoroughly enjoyed Monday's Dolphins Collective & All Dolphins Podcast. But still looking forward to both the rest of the week plus always all written content on SI.Com.
Hey Dave, I don’t know if I’d pin the issues Malik Willis has had so far this season on either Bobby Slowik and/or Kevin Patullo, but I totally get fans being skeptical of two coaches who landed in Miami after they were fired by their previous employer — and not because of a regime change, where it’s more understandable. There will come a time, maybe sooner rather than later, where we will have to take a long, hard look at the Slowik, though, if the passing game continues to be this substandard.
From Mmmm:
Will Slowik make some changes and adjust the offense, or will there be more lip service going forward? I feel oftentimes teams or coaches will say that, we will evaluate things, and then nothing really changes.
I think what’s needed more than schematic changes right now is more time between Malik Willis and his receivers so they’re on the same page way more than they have been. I also think the return of Caleb Douglas could provide a big boost for the offense. Maybe the Dolphins will lean even more on the running game in the next couple of games, but I don’t foresee major changes yet.
From Divingpelican31:
Hey Alain! Reflecting on the first 5 weeks, this is about what I was expecting. It hasn't been good, but also not a complete disaster like first quarter of the 2019 season. I'm optimistic we will see continued growth from this team as the season progresses. What say you?
Absolutely agree with you, and I wrote as much in a column I posted Wednesday. The start has been rough, but you can’t tear down the roster, wind up with as many young and/or unproven players as the Dolphins have, and expect the team to win a lot of games. That’s simply not realistic.
From JROD’S THE TRUTH:
I know it’s only one game but Kingston didn’t seem like a problem. Is it possible that when Jonah comes back that inserting him into the lineup, and removing Jackson puts your five best offensive linemen on the field? Yes, that would involve moving Proctor to the RT position.
Hey Dana, while I agree with you with Kingston looked the part against the Bengals and that Jackson (obviously) has struggled, I have a very hard time believing the Dolphins are going to do anything at all with Kadyn Proctor in 2026 in terms of a position switch. And I tend to agree with them. Let him go through the full season at guard and then have him work at right tackle from the start of the OTAs. Now, having said, I wouldn’t necessarily be shocked by a switch at right tackle, but that one would have the Dolphins taking a look at what Caedan Wallace can do at that position.
From Steve:
Who do you think potentially gets traded during the trade deadline? Obviously many are speculating Sieler and Jackson, but do you think there could be a sleeper trade candidate that we aren't talking about? Thank you.
Hey Steve, I addressed the trade candidates in the Wednesday mailbag, and the names included were Sieler, Jackson, Josh Uche and Greg Dulcich. I have a hard time picturing anybody else being a trade candidate because I don’t know who else would be appealing to another team understanding they’re not moving any of their key young pieces.
From Toby Marmorino:
Hey Alain, is it fair to say that if Malik Willis was already on the roster and under contract and not personally hand-picked by Sully and Hafley, that he would have gotten benched at least once during the first five games to at least get a look at what they have in QB2 (McCord)? Not saying that Willis should be benched completely and lose his job, but in a season in which we are going through a complete rebuild I don't see the harm in giving the backup quarterback a little work here and there. It actually seems like the right thing to do considering the talent or lack thereof on the roster. I really don't want to hear much about the lack of receiver talent that he's working with, because an open receiver is an open receiver, I don't care whose name is on the back of the receiver's jersey. Willis is just not seeing them for some reason. Maybe another quarterback will be able to identify the receiver who's open faster. Also it's kind of sad to see his body language when he's sitting on the bench sulking, instead of talking with Slowik, his receivers and O-linemen about what's going on or having his head buried in an iPad the way you see the All-Pro quarterbacks in this league like Allen, Burrow, Mahomes, etc,, doing. Thank you and keep up the excellent work.
Hey Toby, thanks for the kind words. I don’t think there would have been a change at quarterback regardless under your hypothetical, though maybe McCord would have gotten snaps at the end of maybe the San Francisco game. I don’t necessarily believe it’s generally a great idea to bench a quarterback unless you’re ready to make a change, and even had he been an incumbent I have a hard time believing that Kyle McCord would do much better. I get the fascination with McCord because he’s an unknown commodity and maybe he’ll become the great steal all fans want, but the reality is this a second-year sixth-round pick who hasn’t taken a snap in an NFL regular season game yet. I’ve seen those guys play before, and almost invariably it’s not pretty.
From Daniel:
Hi Alain, longtime listener and reader of your work. My question has to do with Kadyn Proctor and his position. The current administration seems pretty set on keeping him at left guard and not cross training him at right tackle (which seems like a more valuable position than LG). One thing that hasn’t come up is the possibility that the Dolphins don’t want to give Patrick Paul a huge contract extension in two years and are banking on letting him leave and replacing him with Kadyn Proctor at left tackle. Is there precedent for this at Green Bay while Sullivan was there? Did they always pay their successful drafted linemen to long-term contracts or try to draft their replacements? Have you heard the coaches or administration actually say they are interested in playing Proctor at right tackle? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Hey Daniel, let me start with the last thing first, and the answer is I've never heard Sullivan or Hafley ever discuss Proctor as a right tackle specifically, they just went with the flow of the questions and talked about his development in general. Forget about two years, Paul becomes eligible for an extension after this season and don't think his agent won't be calling Sullivan if he has a strong 2026 season. The Packers generally have rewarded their drafted offensive linemen if they perform.
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