Mike McDaniel explains what excites him most about working with Tua Tagovailoa

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: February 9, 2022

It seems like new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is already building a strong relationship with young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Shortly after McDaniel took the head coaching job, he spoke on what specifically excites him about working with Tagovailoa in South Florida.

“I’m excited about a player that wants to get better,” McDaniel said during a podcast. “And point-blank, in a coaching-player relationship, both parties have to participate, and you can only get out of a player what they’re willing to put in. … I can tell he’s really going to attack it. He’s a player that has an eternal chip on his shoulder, but we have a lot of work to do, and that will be a really fun day when we first get to get on the field.”

Tagovailoa has had an up-and-down start to his NFL career, with injuries playing a large part in delaying his progression. However, while he missed a few games in the early stages of the 2021 season, he managed to stay on the field down the stretch and showed some real signs of improvement.

In 13 games in the 2021 season, Tagovailoa threw for 2,653 yards and 16 touchdowns. He did that while dealing with consistent pressure from opposing defenses. He also managed to overcome a number of injuries to key weapons at skill positions.

With McDaniel, the Dolphins are expected to put a heavy focus on the offensive side of the ball. That should help Tagovailoa in major ways, as the offense will hopefully be built specifically and intricately around him to accentuate his strengths and mitigate his weaknesses.

Though the Dolphins have enjoyed two winning seasons in a row, they haven’t made the playoffs since the 2016 campaign. Surely, McDaniel will look to get over that hump and help Tagovailoa earn his first NFL playoff bid as soon as possible.