William Hayes – June 1, 2017
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Thursday, June 1, 2017
DE William Hayes
(I know you haven’t been in town long but have you had a chance to look for any mermaids yet out there?) – “No, but I went fishing a couple of times. I caught me a little hammerhead shark. I haven’t found one yet but I’m still in search for one.”
(Do people ask you a whole lot about your beliefs or do they ask you more … Like when they see you out, do they ask you more about football plays or what they know about your beliefs?) – “They’ll probably ask me more about my beliefs. A lot of times, people get excited to see me, but that’s more so about they ask me about the whole mermaids and dinosaur things more so than anything.”
(When we talked to you a few months ago, you said you had other theories that you’d be happy to share with us. The floor is yours.) – “I think I already made it clear that I don’t think man ever went to the moon. I don’t know, some of my beliefs might not be good to talk about right now. We might do that … I don’t want to offend anybody. I’ll keep those a little secretive right now. You can hit me up later.”
(Aliens? UFOs?) – “I actually believe in aliens. Absolutely. I believe there is life on other planets. I just don’t think we’re the only ones here. But I don’t know how much sense that makes to everyone else.”
(One that’s kind of catching fire in the sports world is the flat earth thing. Do you have any thoughts on that?) – “I’ve never fell off the earth so I’m going to say it’s flat too.”
(Your teammates in general, how do they like some of these ideas and theories that you’ve had over the years?) – “We haven’t really talked about it too much. The one time we brought it up, they just told me to shut up. (laughter) So it was real quick.”
(What was your response to that when they told you to shut up?) – “I tried to explain myself but (Andre) Branch and (Cameron) Wake said ‘We aren’t trying to hear all of that around here.’ So we just all laughed about it and that was kind of it.”
(What were you trying to explain to them?) – “I was trying to explain my theory on dinosaurs but they weren’t really trying to hear it.”
(It was a ‘no go’ then?) – “Yes. I don’t believe a T-Rex ever walked this earth.”
(It doesn’t bother you when you get shut down like that?) – “No, because I’m still going to explain myself, regardless of the situation. You’re just not going to hear it. You may not be listening to me but I’m going to talk to you about it.”
(How do you explain the fossils that they find though?) – “I just think we put those things there just so we could have some (stuff) to talk about. I don’t know. If you go to a museum and you see a dinosaur museum and you see a big T-Rex standing there and you just realize only 10 percent of it is the actual dinosaur. The other stuff is just made up. It just doesn’t make too much sense to me.”
(With DE Cameron Wake and DE Andre Branch at defensive end and you coming in, how do you look at your role on this defense? Are you looking to supplant one of those two?) – “Just do whatever the coach asks me to do. Whatever can help us win, that’s what I’m about. I put my pride to the side and just come in and put my work hat on and go to work. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m going to do it. I’m not trying to come here and try to re-create what they’ve got here. They’ve got a winning system and (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase is doing something positive around here. I’m just happy to be here. Whatever they ask me to do, I’m just going to do it to the best of my ability.”
(What was your reaction when you were traded here? Obviously you were a very good defensive lineman with the Rams.) – “’Damn. What’s going on?’ I was at a charity event and then I just got a call saying ‘You’ve been traded.’ It was cool. (The Dolphins) were really after me in free agency and I was actually pleased just to get the chance to come here. If it was anywhere else, I probably would have been a little disappointed but the idea that you know a team wanted you the year before made it a little bit better.”
(You played a lot inside throughout your career. Is that a spot where you’re comfortable at?) – “Yes, I’m comfortable across the whole d-line. I’m the Swiss Army knife. Whatever you need me to do, I’m going to go out there and just get it done.”
(Who has been most receptive to your beliefs? Who has been intrigued? Who has been in the audience when you’ve held court?) – “I don’t know. I actually got some people to change their minds a little when I was in L.A. But I haven’t really broke the ice yet (here). The next person I’m going to work on is (Ndamukong) Suh. Suh might be a little receptive just to hear me out a little.”
(Why do you think DT Ndamukong Suh would be receptive to hear you out?) – “Because he just likes to mess with me on a daily basis, so I figure he’ll at least call me (dumb) and just tell me how stupid I sound. He’ll at least give me a chance to explain myself.”
(Is some of this stuff a legitimate off-field interest for you? Do you spend a lot of time researching and looking into things like this?) – “No. Honestly the dinosaur fossils I did, at one point in time, because growing up I never really followed it at all, even when I was in school. The older I got, I was just like ‘Man, this stuff is starting to seem more and more ridiculous to me.’ So I kind of did a little research on it and kind of made me definitely not believe in it.”
(So there is nothing a scientist could do to change your mind?) – “Absolutely not. (Late night talk show host) Jimmy Kimmel took me to a dinosaur museum. I’ve had other people take me to dinosaur museums and every time I went there it just made me realize how ridiculous the theory seems even more.”
(It can be lonely to have the beliefs that you do. Have you found that you get shunned a little bit?) – “No. It’s my belief. I wouldn’t expect anybody else to believe in them. I don’t really mind what anybody else thinks.”
(So you will believe that there are other life forces in the world that are not human…) – “Yes. I’m just saying in general, they could possibly be somewhere else. Some other type of life form. I’m not necessarily saying a human or a legit alien with two things coming out of his head. I’m just thinking there could be other life forms.”
(What do you think of the possibility of co-existing with aliens at some point? Like colonizing Mars was in the news this week.) – “That sounds pretty dope. I wouldn’t mind taking a trip to Mars and seeing how it looks over there.”
(Can you elaborate on why you think the moon landing was a hoax?) – “I just don’t think man ever went to the moon. I don’t think we’ve been back there after we went there, have we?”
(No.) – “Exactly. Why did we just go once and not go back? That doesn’t make too much sense to me.”
(They went like four or five times.) – “We went four or five times? Did we really?”
(Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16.) – “And we just went up there and chilled? I don’t know about all of that.”
(Why do you think it is that the scientific community will push stuff like the moon landing and dinosaurs? Is it an effort to control people? To control the message?) – “I don’t know why they do it. I guess for you all to just have something to talk about. I don’t really follow it too much to be honest with you. I just can’t see us going up to the moon and just chilling. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
(Do you think you can bring Head Coach Adam Gase to your side?) – “Yes, absolutely. If Gase just hears me out one time, he’ll probably feel where I’m coming from.”
(Are you kind of a skeptic in general? Like when you read stuff and watch…?) – “Yes. I’m just more so … If I haven’t seen it, I just think you can’t just go with it. That’s my whole thing.”
(But you haven’t seen a mermaid…) – “I know. I’m not saying there’s necessarily a mermaid out there. I’m just saying there possibly could be. There’s a lot of water we haven’t discovered yet.”
(So you’re challenging the assumption that there are not mermaids?) – “I’m just saying that we can’t say there are not mermaids. We find a different lifeform in the water every day, so that’s my whole theory.”
(Have Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams or Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke told you that you’ll be playing some tackle? Have you done it so far in OTAs or have you been outside exclusively?) – “I’ve been outside for the most part. I’m pretty sure I might play a little inside this year too. Just with our scheme, the defensive ends move inside on some of the plays, so I could see myself playing down there a little. I don’t really necessarily know exactly what I’ll be doing. I’m just going to kind of figure things out as they go. Like I said, whatever they want me to do, I’ll do. I’m going to do it.”
(What do you believe is a key to helping the run defense and this scheme from the end position?) – “Basically setting the edge and constricting the lanes. That’s what I make my bread and butter on since I’ve been in the NFL. Not to try to boost myself, but I feel I’m one of the best run-stopping defensive ends in the NFL. That’s just point blank, period. I’m not going to come in here and tell myself I can be a third-down pass rusher over Cam Wake. That sounds ignorant. He’s the best left end in the NFL when it comes to getting after the ball. But I think we’re going to complement each other real well. I know if I can get teams to second-and-long, third-and-long, he’s going to come in there and do damage. That’s what it’s all about. Like I said, I’m not a ‘me’ guy. I’m a ‘we’ guy. I just want to help us build on what we had last year. That’s what it is.”
(You’re 32 years old, is that right?) – “Yes.”
(How much do you have left in the tank?) – “I have a lot left in the tank. Me personally, I still don’t think there’s a man in the NFL that’s going to knock me back off the line of scrimmage. Like I said, that’s not being arrogant, that’s just what it is.”
(How are you viewing this opportunity at this stage of your career? What do you hope to accomplish out of it?) – “I want to win. That’s the only reason I’m still playing. I’m not playing this game for self-accomplishments. I want to win some games and go to the playoffs and go far in the playoffs. That’s what it is for me. Like I said, I’m not trying to come in and reinvent what we’ve got going on here. I’m just trying to come in and just add to what we’ve got going.”
(There was something a little surprising done, as you know, with your contract, in which it was restructured and you get to be a free agent next offseason. Did it surprise you the Dolphins were willing to do that? Did you jump at that?) – “No, I brought that to their attention. The Dolphins didn’t necessarily take my last year off.”
(Why was that?) – “Just at the end of the day, I’m a little older. My goal is to finish as a Dolphin. I have no intentions of going (anywhere else). If I would have realized how much I loved this organization, I probably wouldn’t have considered (taking the year off). Since I’ve gotten here, (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has been probably one of the … (Former L.A. Rams Head Coach Jeff) Fisher I was with for eight years, so you can’t really compare the two; but (Gase) reminds me a lot of Fisher. He’s definitely a player’s coach. He’s really about family and I appreciate him. I texted him yesterday and told him ‘I just thank you for the opportunity.’ It’s genuine and it’s real. I really have fallen in love with this organization. My teammates are awesome. Like I said, I’m happy to be here. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t say how thankful I am. It’s probably the best move that’s happened to me in my career so far, especially with the move from L.A. A lot of those guys, I was really close with; but I just love how this organization is really ran.”
