Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t hold back when asked to describe the difference between current head coach Mike McDaniel and former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.
“If you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong, that you shouldn’t be here, that you haven’t earned this…
and then someone come and tells you, ‘You are the best fit for this…How you that make you feel?”
– @Tua describes the… pic.twitter.com/bBHI6IsVlj
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 19, 2024
“To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here,” Tagovailoa said. “That you haven’t earned this right.
“And then you have somebody else come in and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for this. You are accurate. You are the best whatever. You are this. You are that.’ How would it make you feel listening to one or the other? You see what I’m saying? And then you hear it – regardless of what it is – the good or the bad. And you hear it more and more and you start to actually believe that. I don’t care who you are. You could be the president of the United States. You have a terrible person that’s telling you things that you don’t want to hear or that you probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start to believe that about yourself.
“And so, that’s sort of what ended up happening.”
Tagovailoa revealed that he’s not the only one that heard negative things from Flores, saying that there were a “couple of guys” that have been there since his rookie season that went through something similar.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa played the first two seasons of his NFL career under Flores. He ended up sitting behind veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to start his rookie season, but he eventually appeared in 10 games and made nine starts, leading the Dolphins to a 6-3 record in his starts that season.
In his second NFL season, Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to a 7-5 record in 12 starts, but he didn’t put up the most impressive numbers, throwing for just 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 total games.
Flores was let go following the season, and the Dolphins quarterback has taken off since. Not only has Tagovailoa helped lead Miami to back-to-back playoff berths, but he finished ninth in the league’s MVP voting in the 2022 season and earned his first Pro Bowl berth in the 2023 season.
Injuries derailed Tagovailoa’s 2022 campaign, but he rebounded to play in every regular season game and the Dolphins’ playoff loss in the 2023 season.
The former first-round pick threw for an NFL-leading 4,624 yards last season, posting career-highs in completion percentage (69.3 percent) and touchdown passes (29).
Not only does Tagovailoa seem to enjoy McDaniel’s coaching style more than Flores,’ but he’s also become a better player under the current Dolphins head coach.
Now that Tagovailoa has a new long-term contract with the Dolphins, his focus should be on the 2024 season and leading Miami to a playoff win, something it hasn’t done since the 2000 season.
