The Miami Dolphins may be off to a rough start to the 2026 season, but Dave Shula has plenty of optimism.
Shula is obviously best known as the son of legendary head coach Don Shula. However, the eldest son of the Shula family also coached the Dolphins as an assistant, serving as a quarterbacks and wide receivers coach between 1982-88 during the early portion of Dan Marino's career.
The 67-year-old Shula keeps close tabs on the current Dolphins regime, having lunch with head coach Jeff Hafley and ex-Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt. One of the key players Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan brought in was none other than quarterback Malik Willis. Hafley and Sullivan are obviously very familiar with Willis, as he played as the backup quarterback over
the past two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
While Willis has faced his share of criticism during his first three starts with the Dolphins -- he has just one touchdown against two interceptions and hasn't produced a ton of yardage -- he does have a supporter in Shula.
"Another thing they did was bringing in Willis from Green Bay, so they knew him and his abilities," said Shula in a one-on-one interview with Dolphins Wire. "I remember seeing him last year playing, and I was very impressed with him, his production, what he was able to do. So hopefully, they'll build a team around him and continue when they get opportunities to bring in players. But the big thing will be developing the young guys, and that's their job in 2026, and to build a foundation and to go forward. Build a culture, and I'm sure they're on their way to doing that."
Willis had just six career starts before this season, something that Hafley recently made mention to reporters following their latest loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In other words, Willis has never been a full-time starter and is really gaining true experience as a full-time starting quarterback for the first time in his career.
"I think sometimes we forget that this is (Malik Willis') first year really being a starting quarterback, which is way different than coming in at spot duty and playing a few games," said Hafley of Willis. "I thought he improved today and I'm excited to see the film."
When asked for a player style comparison for Willis, Hafley gave him lofty praise -- he compared him to Chicago Bears star quarterback Caleb Williams.
"Malik, I just remember watching him, I'm thinking of the Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has a lot of those same traits: physical, great arm, great arm talent," said Shula of Willis.
Shula hasn't coached in the NFL since he was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992 until 1996, but in more recent years he served as the wide receivers coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth. He's now returning as the president of his family's restaurant group, Shula's Restaurant Group. Shula previously served in the role for two decades from 1997 until 2018.
He's leading the expansion plans of the company, which includes Shula’s American Kitchen in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and an entry into Thomasville, Georgia, in 2027.
“It’s great to be back,” said Shula. “The company, obviously, I have a lot of stake in. I was here with Shula’s for 22 years, from ’97 through ’18 on a day to day basis, and then went back up to got back into coaching at my alma mater, Dartmouth College, coached receivers for six years, and then came back and and talked to Mary Anne shula — who’s the CEO and my dad’s widow — this summer, and she was looking for somebody to come in and take over the president’s role. I was happy to want to have the opportunity and something that I obviously have a passion for and want to see our name represented well and be back in the business.”
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Former Dolphins coach boldly compares Malik Willis to star QB
