Back in 2022, the Tennessee Titans took quarterback Malik Willis out of Liberty in the third round of the NFL draft, and at the time, Tennessee's head coach was Mike Vrabel.
Unfortunately, Willis didn't play much during his time with the Titans, and when he did, he wasn't great, completing just 53% of his passes for 350 yards and three interceptions. Heading into 2024, Tennessee traded Willis to the Green Bay Packers and fired Vrabel.
Now, years later, the two are set to square off in Week 8, this time with Willis under center for the Miami Dolphins and with Vrabel as the head coach of the New England Patriots, who he played for from 2001-08.
This week, Willis looked back at his time with Vrabel.
"I think it was hard coaching, trying to get guys
better," Willis said. "I can't say anything but great things about Coach Vrabel. And I mean, he taught me a lot about ball in general in this league, at this level. So I can't be any type of way towards him. Obviously, he had to do what the best thing was for his team at that point, in his opinion. You can't control other people's opinion. All you can do is keep working, and when your opportunity arises, take advantage of it."
What specifically did Willis learn from Vrabel during their time together in Tennessee?
"You do your job, or they will find somebody else to do it; that's important," Willis said. "Even just the structure of defense and how teams are trying to attack other teams, and how just the schematics and mental breakdown of how the NFL works versus college, because college is just running your plays against whoever you're playing this week, instead of trying to attack them always as far as structurally. You might be trying to attack just a player or this and that. But now you're trying to attack the scheme; you're trying to attack tendencies and all that and being able to realize those while you're in the heat of battle. I think that's what he taught me a lot of."
Willis started on the bench as a rookie and ended up playing in eight games during his first year, as he kept coming in to replace former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. In his second season, Willis fell to third on the depth chart behind Tannehill and 2023 second-round pick Will Levis.
After finding some success away from Vrabel in Green Bay, Willis hasn't been great in Miami this season, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,057 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions. He's also rushed for career highs in yards (223) and touchdowns (3).
This Sunday, we'll see who gets bragging rights, at least until the two teams meet again later in the year.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins QB Malik Willis reflects on time with Patriots HC Mike Vrabel
