Jeff Hafley discloses true feelings about new Dolphins QB Malik Willis

By the NFL league meetings in Orlando this week, Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley had already spent two seasons around Malik Willis inside the Green Bay Packers facility. On Tuesday he made it clear those years left him convinced the quarterback Miami signed to a three-year deal this offseason is ready to become the face of the franchise.

“I love Malik,” Hafley told Up & Adams host Kay Adams. “It was really fun being there with him for two years. We got really close… He’s one of the best guys ever. He’s a great guy. He’s a great teammate. He’ll be unbelievable in the community, and he’s a good player.”

Hafley, who served as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator in 2024-25 before taking the Dolphins job, praised Willis’s dual-threat skill set and mental makeup. The 25-year-old appeared in 11 games and made three starts for the Packers, completing 78.7 percent of his passes for 972 yards and six touchdowns while adding 261 rushing yards and three scores.

“You saw him when he came in in those games, what he was able to do,” Hafley said. “He’s exciting to watch. He’s really confident and nothing wavers the guy. He’s super athletic. He’s big too. When you see him, he’s like 225 pounds, jacked up and he can run. But people don’t give him enough credit for how accurate he is, especially down the field.”

The coach emphasized that Willis’s limited game action—he was drafted in the third round in 2022—should not obscure his upside. “He just hasn’t played a lot. He’s only 25 years old. He’s young. Some of the guys in the draft are older than him. It’s like getting a young quarterback who we know, who we have a great relationship with, and we just have to get him experienced and have him develop over time.”

Willis’s familiarity with both Hafley and new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, Green Bay’s former vice president of player personnel, was a driving force behind Miami’s decision to hand him the keys to the offense for 2026. The franchise moved on from Tua Tagovailoa earlier this offseason, creating both a vacancy and an opportunity to build around a quarterback already versed in the staff’s culture.

Miami’s next task is fortifying the roster around Willis. With cap space tight, the front office is expected to target reinforcements in the upcoming draft rather than free-agency splashes. For now, the organization’s top decision-makers have made their confidence in the young passer unmistakable.

“I love the guy,” Hafley reiterated. Based on his track record with Willis, the Dolphins believe that affection will translate into production once the regular season kicks off.