How New Passing Game Coordinator's Experience with Hurts Could Help Willis

The Miami Dolphins made a notable addition to their quarterback room earlier this offseason when they signed Malik Willis to be their starter for the immediate future. Willis was the big and obvious addition that has garnered a lot of attention throughout the course of the offseason.

One of the smaller additions to help insulate around Willis was the addition of passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo.

Patullo was in Philadelphia with the Eagles since 2021 and he had the title of passing game coordinator for two seasons. For the 2023 and 2024 seasons he was given the title of associate head coach before getting promoted to be the offensive coordinator and play-caller for Jalen Hurts.

Patullo’s experience as a play-caller did not work out in Philadelphia, and he was replaced after just one season as the play-caller.

While his one season calling plays did not work out, the Eagles had a lot of success with Hurts and their passing game, including two Super Bowl appearances in Patullo’s tenure. Could Patullo’s experience with Hurts, who has a similar skill set to Willis, allow the Dolphins to be ahead of the curve in developing their new starting quarterback?

The Running Similarities

One of the biggest reasons Philadelphia’s offense was as dangerous as it was over the last four seasons was Hurts’ ability as a runner in the open field.

While Hurts gets knocked for being someone who has been the biggest beneficiary of the infamous “tush push” but he has been more than that in his career.

Since Hurts became the preferred starter in Philadelphia in December of 2020, he has never run for fewer than 400 yards in a season. In fact, during his first two seasons as the starter, he was a big part of Philadelphia’s prolific rushing attack, running for more than 700 yards in each of his first two seasons under center.

While Hurts’ rushing totals have dropped each year since he became the starting quarterback, his previous totals show a willingness to use the quarterback as a weapon in the run game. The ability to extend plays is something that makes a defense think for an extra second, which Patullo sees as an advantage for his new quarterback, as long as he can get his offense on the same page.

“Guys are always going to be alive on scramble drills with him, which is huge. So really, you just got to practice that,” Patullo said Tuesday when Miami's offensive coaches met with the media. “So throughout the offseason, we'll work on different things to break those tendencies of like, hey, we're in a scramble mode now and kind of work on those different things. Because there are going to be huge plays in the offense. If you look around the league, there's a lot of big-time scramble plays that can win you games. And I was a part of a lot of that over the past five years. So I think it's really a unique skill set that you can take advantage of. And defenses have to be worried about it at all times.”

Moves Like Malik

Willis showed his ability to extend plays during his brief stint in Green Bay, and perhaps there was no greater example than his last start as a member of the Packers.

Willis was Green Bay’s entire offense against the Baltimore Ravens that night, accounting for 348 scrimmages yards, running for two touchdowns, and throwing another.

Had Willis not had to leave the game with a shoulder injury, those numbers could have been even more impressive.

Miami has not had the ability to take advantage of a quarterback who has the ability to use his legs. Tua Tagovailoa was one who preferred to operate from the pocket. So, how do you take advantage of a quarterback who has that type of skill set?

It all starts before the play even begins.

“Really, what you try to do is you want to help them pre-snap with everything so they can see as much as they can see, and then you never want to take away from them,” Patullo said. “So the second a guy has that ability, and that's where the game is going. We need athletic guys to make plays, make first downs and do different things. So really you want to keep it in the structure of the offense and then let his ability naturally take over, whether it's running, whether it's getting out of the pocket to throw it and get explosive plays. He's got a big arm.”

Philadelphia’s offense put more things on Hurts’ plate pre-snap in the wake of Jason Kelce’s retirement before the 2024 season. Hurts responded by having the best season of his career, including two big showings in the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl.

Hurts accounted for seven touchdowns, and turned the ball over only once as the Eagles rolled to a Super Bowl 59 championship with Hurts earning MVP honors.

The hope the Dolphins have is that Willis can do a lot of those same things that Hurts showed the ability to do in Philadelphia.

In a limited sample, Willis has shown the ability to adapt quickly. His first start in Green Bay, came just 20 days after he was acquired. While his stat line was modest, throwing just 13 passes including a touchdown pass, his coaching staff raved about him after the game ended. He followed that up with a big performance against his former team a week later.

“I just cannot articulate the job that he’s done in this short period of time,” LaFleur said after Willis’ big performance against Tennessee in September of 2024. “People can’t fathom it. I promise you, you guys don’t get it. I know you think you got it, but you don’t get it. What he’s been able to do, I’ve never seen something like this. Hats off to him, hats off to everybody around him, guys rallying, having his back.”

One of the big steps for a quarterback as he tries to immerse himself into the team he’s on, is attempting to get guys to rally around him. All of the great ones have done it.

The Dolphins are hoping that Willis is a quarterback they can win with in a way that the Eagles and Patullo did with Jalen Hurts.

Can he get there? Patullo says only time will tell.

“Yeah, I mean it's hard to see right now. I haven't been with him enough. Jalen's big thing is he's won a lot of games and he finds ways to win,” Patullo said. “I think that's kind of what he's proven and that's what's critical about his game. But you can see some of the similarities, I think, just kind of the way they move and they're able to extend plays. And I think that's why guys like Malik and Jalen can be, and even Patrick Mahomes, they can extend plays. When you can extend plays, defense is in a bind. Now they gotta play for that extra second longer. Even though the rush gets there, it's three seconds now, it turns to five, six, seven seconds. And there's certain coverages that you can eliminate because the guys can run. So it is definitely a weapon for sure.”

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