Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s NFL career has just gotten started.
Luckily, his offensive coordinator is about as experienced as they come.
Chan Gailey has decades of NFL experience under his belt, and he’ll be using all of his experience to try to help guide Tagovailoa along during the unique 2020 NFL season.
Gailey recently broke down how he plans to help Tagovailoa through their first season working together.
“I hope I have a big impact on it, but you don’t ever know about that,” Gailey said. “You have to see how fast and how well a player comes on and then you see what he does. We’ll treat [Tagovailoa] just like we treat everybody else. We’ll try to put him in a position to be successful when the time comes.”
Gailey also went into what factors will play a role in how quickly Tagovailoa manages to develop and adapt.
“He’s going to develop quickly or slowly depending upon how much he grasps the offense and how quickly he comes and how he develops as a football player, and a lot of that’s based on health,” Gailey said. “You look at the success he’s had; obviously, he’s a very good leader and you take all those great players that they had at Alabama, it’s got to come together on the field. You can do all the coaching you want, but when they walk out there on the field, the players play. Obviously, his leadership and his ability to throw the football, his touch, game management.”
In a typical season, Tagovailoa would have the opportunity to take part in preseason games. This season, all preseason games have been removed from the schedule to avoid risk amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given that fact, it won’t be very surprising if the Dolphins take a slow approach with Tagovailoa. After all, the quarterback himself admits that he’s still in the process of truly understanding Gailey’s offensive playbook.
“I’m still in the process of getting to understand Chan’s offense. Now from a perspective of personality with who Chan is and whatnot — I mean Chan is phenomenal. Really great guy, down to earth,” Tagovailoa said. “When it’s time to work, he’s out there, we go to work. It’s a very friendly environment with him and the other quarterbacks as well.”
Whatever happens, it appears clear that both men are entering the 2020 season with clear eyes.
Hopefully, this season is just the first step along a long and successful journey for these two in South Florida.
