Miami Dolphins position coach invokes the phrase everyone wants to hear about their team’s most important player

If you could pick one phrase to hear about a quarterback, it may well be this one. Whether they play for the Miami Dolphins or anyone else.

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer
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Dec 27, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) celebrates after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field.
Dec 27, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) celebrates after a touchdown during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field. Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

Quick! Name the most important position in football! Not for the 2026 Miami Dolphins, but any team in any year.

Did you say ‘quarterback’? You said ‘quarterback’…right? It all starts and ends with who is behind center in this game. And for this year’s Miami Dolphins franchise, there’s been a chance behind center for the first time since 2020. Free agent signing Malik Willis will take on the charge as the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. His time with the team is just two months long — so there’s a lot of proverbial ballgame left. But one of Willis’ coaches, quarterback coach Bush Hamdan, just invoked the phrase everyone wants to hear about their starting quarterback.

Miami Dolphins position coach invokes phrase everyone wants to hear about their most important player

Dec 27, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) runs the ball during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field.
Dec 27, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) . Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

“I just feel like he’s always the first one in the building, the last one to leave.”

— Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan on QB Malik Willis

I’ll take ‘Things You Love To See’ for $500, Alex. This is exactly the kind of response you want to see from a quarterback who is trying to seize the moment and be the best version of himself. We’ve already gotten clues to Willis’ performance as a leader and presence on this team — his cameo at rookie minicamp on Friday served as a very visible clue of how Willis is meeting the moment.

But we have months before we’ll get a chance to see what the Willis experience looks like on the field. So between now and then, the only barometer we have of how he’s responding to being tabbed a starting quarterback is what glimpses we can collect through the keyhole.

Hamdan’s praise for Willis and his presence in the building is noteworthy. It won’t mean a whole lot if Willis and his teammates do not execute when we start playing for keeps in September. But it is still, nonetheless, a good omen that the young quarterback is doing everything in his power to be ready for his moment.

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