If you hadn't already heard, Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis has a notable connection to the head coach of the New England Patriots, Mike Vrabel. Back in 2022, Vrabel was the head coach for the Tennessee Titans when they drafted Willis in the third round of the NFL Draft. Due to that connection, Willis and Vrabel's media availabilities have been peppered with questions about their brief time together.
Of course, Willis last played for Vrabel three years ago. In the NFL, three years may as well be thirty. Since then, Willis was traded to the Green Bay Packers for pennies on the dollar. In Green Bay, he showed the first true signs of life in his career under the tutelage of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. In a sense, the quarterback we see today is nothing like the one Vrabel coached last.
His work with the Packers is what ultimately earned him a sizable contract and an audition as the starter in Miami. Besides, a brief retrospective on the Vrabel–Willis partnership doesn't exactly seem like peaches and cream.
Malik Willis' growth came well after Mike Vrabel; the duo's history shouldn't have any impact on the Dolphins–Patriots game
Upon being drafted in Tennessee, Willis was the understudy to former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He'd wind up starting three games, going 1–2 while throwing for less than 300 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions. By the following season, he had been relegated to third on the depth chart, usurped by second-round rookie Will Levis.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Willis was traded to Green Bay for a measly seventh-round pick and flourished in relief of Jordan Love when pressed into action. Following one of his starts against the Indianapolis Colts, he made an admission that doesn't exactly reflect well on Vrabel and Willis' time with the Tennessee Titans.
"In Tennessee I didn't really get [first-team] reps. We were banged up so it was a lot of walk-thru reps. Even in camp, I was only getting reps with the [second-stringers] or [third-stringers] so it was kind of tough ... There's no excuses, mental reps count and having to know the footwork, that counts. So, that's on me. I'm not blaming them for anything."
So, even in his starts as a rookie, it seems he wasn't given live first-team reps. Any expectation that he would succeed in that environment seems more like a prayer than a plan. When Vrabel spoke about Willis this week, he acknowledged the potential the organization saw, as well as the rawness in Willis' game. No mention of the fact that he threw him to the wolves without proper preparation, though.
"Well [he's] talented. I thought [he] had great arm talent. He could throw it from different platforms and different arm angles. [He's a] strong runner, [we] thought [he was] somebody that could extend plays or hurt you outside of the pocket if he chose to scramble. [We also] knew that he was going to need a little bit of seasoning and a little bit of time. It's a big transition coming from the level of football he was at — that's no fault of his own ... He's continued to improve and took advantage of opportunities in Green Bay."
In other words, Vrabel and, by extension, the Patriots don't have any secret intel on Willis in 2026. He's evolved into a better and more confident player, largely as a byproduct of his stop in Green Bay. The notion that the Patriots will magically perform better because their head coach drafted (and gave up on) the Dolphins' quarterback is reckless.
The Dolphins are heading into their Week 8 matchup at the same considerable disadvantage they've faced all season, due to the team's bold decision to take the bulk of their salary cap consequences in 2026. There exists a formula to steal one, but Miami's margin for error is markedly thin.
In any case, if Miami doesn't pull off the upset, or if Willis struggles as he has at times this season, we must avoid the temptation to credit Vrabel with having a secret destructive plot the league hasn't figured out yet. There is absolutely nothing from Willis' Titans tenure that has any bearing on what he's doing now.
The Dolphins could beat the Patriots on Sunday. I suppose, then, the narrative would be that Willis had the book on Vrabel's defensive schemes. That's how this works, right?
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