Dolphins Super Bowl Mailbag: Why Does It Have To Be Willis?

Part 2 of a Super Bowl weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Jason Kirkland:

Hi, Alain, Miami should keep Tua for 2026 based on a few things: his cap charge goes from roughly $54M to $67M to get rid of him, plus another $5M-$6M for another veteran. He handled the demotion well, meaning no drama. In this case, what would his 2027 cap charge be? Thoughts?

Hey Jason, the dead cap hit for Tua if he were to be released in 2027 would be $31.8 million with a $21.6 million savings from his $53.4 million (per Over The Cap). And I addressed at length Saturday the reasons for moving on from Tagovailoa, which I’ll sum up here by simply saying the franchise is starting over with a new front office and it makes sense to want to have a clean start at the most important position too.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! Happy no Dolphins (again) in Super Bowl week! Another QB search (among other positions) for Miami. I am not sure of the buzz around Malik Willis. Barely over 6ft & 210lbs. I am on the arm queen train & the 6'3 minimum & 220 PLUS QBs style. None in free agency that I'm aware of & outside of Mendoza that's worth picking at number 11. Ty Simpson is a BIG no from me. Why not just let Ewers compete with a cheaper backup FA (Mariota, Wentz etc.) & wait for '27 draft? I agree with Dante's mock draft and get Cole Payton from North Dakota in 7th, fix his footwork, crazy throwing motion on the practice squad. Very mobile too. Anyways, always enjoy both All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective podcasts and all the great written work too.

Hey Dave, I completely agree with you that if you don’t have a conviction on a free agent being a long-term answer, it makes no sense spending good money on one. The question here will be exactly how the Dolphins’ new leaders (Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley) view Willis, who is on the smaller side but does have a nice skill set. As for the draft, I encourage everyone to check out Dante Collinelli’s seven-round mock draft that was published early in the week.

From Jeff:

Hello Alain, there's a lot going on with the franchise and we all hypothetically agreed before things went down that the cuts and changes needed to be deep. Thought experiment. How long would it take for GM/coach to be removed if this is absolutely the worst possible choices to fill the roles? Does a GM get a 3-4 year "grace period" simply due to needing to see how things develop? Does the coach get a "freebie" in 2026 and we have 3 years to “see how it goes:? Bottom line, if this is a tire fire, what is the timeline we are looking at when we can have this draft capital again and hit reboot again?

Hey Jeff, man, that’s a depressing question. We’re a month into the new regime and we’re already asking when it could be replaced? Yikes! Then again, I do get the trauma Dolphins fans have felt. I’ll start by saying there’s no set number for a coach because the Dolphins moved on from Cam Cameron after just one year, just like the Patriots did with Jerod Mayo or Denver did in 2022 when they didn’t even let Nathaniel Hackett finish out his first year. As a general rule, though, yes, three years usually is how long a head coach is given. It’s a bit longer for a GM, but again that’s a general rule and not etched in stone.

From Steve:

This is a question I only trust you with, Alain. With the exception of the 1970s Super Bowl teams and the two teams that went to the Super Bowl in the 1980s, what Dolphins team did you really think had a shot of winning the Super Bowl? What are your thought on this year’s HOF inductees, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri, Roger Craig and Luke Kuechly?

Hey Steve, I actually recently did a story about the 10 most frustrating Super Bowl shortfalls, the Dolphins teams that had the best shot at going to the Super Bowl. The No. 1 team on my list was the 1985 team, and that was because they had New England at home in the AFC Championship Game and were the better team but played a miserable game and lost. But I don’t believe they would have beaten Chicago in the Super Bowl, even though — yes, I know — they did defeat them in the regular season. While logic would say I should go with the 1992 or 1994 team, I don’t think either would have been able to beat Dallas or San Francisco in the Super Bowl. So I’m going to go with the 1990 team that lost to Buffalo in the AFC divisional round. That was a great Bills team and the Dolphins lost by 10. Had they been able to win that game, I think they could have gotten by the Raiders in the AFC title game and then the Giants in the Super Bowl.

From RICHARD J. LEONARD:

Hi Alain. Thanks for your great work. When a coach who is under contract decides to resign, is the team still obligated to finish paying the contract? Would the resignation breach the contract?

Hey Richard, yes, a coach resigning walks away from the salary he had coming and he remains under contract to his team unless they’re willing to cancel the contract.

From Jorge boyd:

Hi Alain, now that the Dolphins were left without QB coach, what are the possible choices that sound around the league?

Hey Jorge, the Dolphins obviously are in the market after Nathaniel Hackett accepted the job but then left to become offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals. Their 2025 QB coach Darrell Bevell remains available, but I wouldn’t expect a return (though never say never). Former NFL QB Matt Schaub is said to be considering entering the coaching ranks, but I don’t know of any ties to Jeff Hafley. The Packers’ 2025 QB coach was Sean Mannion, but he was hired as Philadelphia Eagles OC.

From John Pardue:

Alain, do we know what if any progress has been made in overhauling the scouting department? IMO that has been the biggest issue the last 20 years.

Hey John, we could be seeing some announcements when the Dolphins finalize their coaching staff, but I can tell you they already they hired Kyle Smith as new assistant GM and Venzell Boulware as a pro scout from the Green Bay staff.

From It’s The End Of The World As We Know It Ralph:

Ok, U said anything (as far as topic). Why isn’t Joe Thomas, who put together most of the ‘72 Dolphins, in the Ring of Honor?

Hey Ralph, difficult to argue with your point. Thomas was the first person hired by Joe Robbie when the Dolphins were awarded an AFL franchise and he served as director of player personnel from 1965-71, assembling the bulk of the roster that helped Miami reach the Super Bowl three straight times, including the perfect 1972 season. That would deserve that honor, I agree.

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