Tua Tagovailoa gave a scathing review of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores when asked to compare him to current sideline boss Mike McDaniel.
“To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you that 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, that you haven’t earned this right,” Tagovailoa said on the “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.” “And then you have somebody 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.”
Tagovailoa went into further detail to explain how both communication styles have affected his own mindset.
“How would it make you feel listening to one or the other? … And then you hear it, regardless of what it is, the good or the bad, and you hear it more and more, you start to actually believe that,” Tagovailoa said.
He added: “You could be the president of the United States. You have a terrible person that’s telling you things you don’t want to hear or that you probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start to believe that about yourself. That’s sorta what ended up happening.”
Tagovailoa spent the first two seasons of his career under Flores. Although he put up a 13-8 record, he struggled to play up to the expectation of a top-five draft pick. He tossed 27 touchdowns to 15 interceptions but averaged only 6.6 yards per pass attempt and 194.2 passing yards per game.
The 26-year-old has looked like a totally different quarterback under McDaniel’s guidance, recording 54 touchdowns, 22 interceptions, 8.5 yards per attempt, and 272.4 yards per game over two seasons.
“It’s basically been two years of training that out of not just me, but a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year,” Tagovailoa said.
Flores was fired after producing a 24-25 record across three seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach (2019-2021). It was reported at the time of his dismissal that he was relieved due to strained relationships with Tagovailoa and general manager Chris Grier. Flores is currently the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator.
