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Brian Flores details the ‘good’ relationship he had with Tua Tagovailoa, says it wasn’t ‘strained’

Tua Tagovailoa and Brian Flores

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores recently responded to the speculation about his relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Flores said that he and the Dolphins quarterback had a “good” relationship.

“This is an interesting topic, because it wasn’t strained,” Flores said regarding the relationship. “We had a good relationship. It was a player-coach relationship. And I think in a relationship like that, you know, the coach challenges the player. And oftentimes the player challenges the coach. And I think there was a great deal of respect between the two of us. So you hear these crazy kind of — this narrative that’s out there. But this is a young man who works, who developed and got better over two years and, you know, I think he’s got, you know, a bright future. I wish him all the best.”

Flores coached Tagovailoa for two seasons after the Dolphins selected the University of Alabama product with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

“So the world can think what it wants to think,” Flores added. “I think — ask Tua, you know? I’m here to say what I gotta say, and you can ask him. So, I think he’d say the same thing.”

Flores spent the past three seasons with Miami, leading the Dolphins to two winning seasons. The Dolphins did not make the playoffs during Flores’ tenure, but they were close in the 2020 season. Miami ended up falling short of the postseason in that campaign after losing to the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the regular season.

While the Dolphins moved on from Flores after the 2021 season, it’s hard to deny that he had success with a rebuilding team.

Over his three seasons in Miami, Flores compiled a 24-25 record and won 10 games in the 2020 campaign after going 5-11 in his first season as the team’s head coach.

The Dolphins started the 2021 season just 1-7, but they turned things around to win seven straight games and eventually finish with a 9-8 record.

Miami is hoping that new head coach Mike McDaniel will help take Tagovailoa’s game to new heights, and it appears that Flores will be rooting for his former quarterback even though he is no longer the team’s head coach.