Joe Theismann on the State of the Miami Dolphins

Joe Theismann on the State of the Miami Dolphins

A lot of people may not know it, but Joe Theismann almost played for the Miami Dolphins.

The former NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP made a name for himself as the franchise quarterback of the Washington Redskins, leading them to two Super Bowl appearances: Super Bowl XVII, where he won over the Dolphins, and Super Bowl XVIII, where he lost to the Los Angeles Raiders.

However, before he latched on with Washington in 1974 after a successful stint with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, Theismann was drafted by the Dolphins in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL Draft.

Negotiations with the Dolphins obviously failed, and Theismann embarked on a long career with the Redskins that went on until 1985. However, the former ESPN analyst still keeps close tabs on his former franchise.

As Theismann prepares for his participation in the American Century Championship — the biggest annual celebrity golf event in Lake Tahoe — from July 10 through 12, the former longtime NFL quarterback took the time to sit down for a one-on-one interview to talk about the Dolphins’ rebuild and their new quarterback, Malik Willis.

“I think I think they’re in a reload,” said Theismann of the Dolphins in a one-on-one interview. “I think it’s going to be interesting. Basically, your quarterback hasn’t played a lot of football. It’s great that they kept De’Von Achane. You got to build somewhere. You have to start the foundation somewhere. I tell people all the time, the Great Pyramids weren’t built on points, they’re built on a foundation, and every organization is that way, especially when it comes to football.”

The Dolphins are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL after stripping down almost their entire roster. Gone are all of the star players from Miami’s high-powered offense from just a few years ago, such as Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle.

Miami is going all-in with a former Green Bay Packers regime featuring head coach Jeff Hafley, general manager Brian Gutekunst, and quarterback Willis. All three figures were with the Packers last season.

Theismann points towards other questionable marks of the Dolphins’ unit, such as their offensive line and receiving core, that will ultimately influence how Willis performs in his first season as a starting quarterback.

“What’s their offensive line going to look like,” Theismann asks. “The receiving core has been been morphed and changed. Malik can play, it’s just there’s a sample size that nobody’s really seen. I think there’s so many questions in the Dolphins situation that you’re not going to get any answers until the season starts, simply because you don’t have enough preseason games to evaluate everybody.

“You think you’ve got free agents, you think you’ve got good rookies, but you just don’t know,” Theismann continued. “I always look at the first three games of the regular season as modified preseason games. There’s conditioning. I think the biggest advantage Miami could have, if they get a couple of home games early, then basically be in better shape for the people they’re playing.”

Theismann preaches patience with this young and rebuilding Dolphins squad and said the win-loss record shouldn’t be how observers measure Willis’ success in his first season in Miami.

“You can’t just look at a quarterback and say, ‘Well, this is his record,'” said Theismann. “You have to take into consideration what’s happened around him every time he’s gone on the football field, he’s performed very well. He understands that he’s a team guy, he knows what he needs to do. He understands his job, and this is going to be the ultimate test of leadership for him, because now there’s a whole new slew of guys, all new coaching staff, and the thing you can’t do is you can’t try and please everybody.

“You need to do your job as efficiently as you could,” Theismann continued to say of Willis. “He throws the ball well, he moves around well. I’m curious to see what the offense is going to do with his skills. Again, you don’t want to turn your quarterback into a guy that runs a lot. I think Lamar is getting beat up as time goes on. Jayden took a lot of punishment, having the read options the way they are. I really feel like Miami is going to have to find out exactly who they are and what they are to be able to go in the direction they want to go in.”

When asked what exactly is a successful season for Willis in a rebuild situation in Miami, Theismann said it’s a matter of limiting mistakes and to be “consistent.”

“I think to be consistent, number one, not make the big mistakes,” said Theismann. “I used to have a sign on my locker that said, ‘You don’t have to be the reason the team wins, you just can’t be the reason it loses.’ I think that’s a great moniker for him. There’s going to be lots of ways to win a ball game, but as a quarterback, there’s certain ways that you just don’t want to lose games. I think that’s what he needs to do.”

While the 76-year-old Thiesmann will always keep close tabs on the NFL, he’s focusing his attention on the American Century Championship, which is set to take place from July 10-12. The annual celebrity golf event is the biggest of its kind and features the likes of Steph Curry, Tony Romo, John Smoltz, and Jerome Bettis. The event is broadcast on NBC and Peacock and is the most competitive celebrity golf event, with around 90 big names expected to participate.

“The 2026 American Century Championship, 37th year, I’ve been involved in 36 of them, and that’s it’s been so great,” said Theismann. “We’ve raised over $8 million for charities in the Tahoe area, as well as the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, that’s located in Kansas City, and we added an element last year, the American Century Fantasy Golf Contest. It’s American Century Championship Fantasy Golf Contest, coming up in June, people will be able to log on to ACCFantasygolf.com and what you’ll be able to do is create your own fantasy team.

“We’re broken down into five groups,” Theismann continued. “You get to pick one from each group, that becomes your team. You can change it every day if you want. If you win a particular day, you wind up with two tickets to next year’s tournament. If you win the overall, it’s a $10,000 check to give to the charity of your choice. Not only are we having a good time, it’s $750,000, but we’re able to raise money to help other people, and that’s the neat thing about this tournament, and what American Century has stood for for so long.”

Theismann said a good finish for him is around the top 40 and admits that he can’t hit the ball the way the younger golfers do.

“I’m competitive, I just can’t hit the balls far like some of these young guys,” said Theismann while laughing. “I stand next to Josh Allen sometimes on the range, and I sort of turn around, I let him hit, I hear him hit, I turn around, and then the ball is somewhere way down there, but it’s so fun. Let’s face it, we’re competition junkies, that’s who we are. We all love to compete, there’s just people from everything that you can imagine, all celebrities from every world, whether it’s music, entertainment, arts, theater, motion pictures, football, basketball, baseball, across the board, soccer, men and women. It’s just a great opportunity to pull back the curtain and be able to really meet people and find out what kind of people they really are. Everybody’s just terrific.”