Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa calls former coach Brian Flores ‘terrible person’
Tua Tagovailoa recently unloaded on his former coach Brian Flores.
In an interview on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” the franchise quarterback was asked to compare Flores with his current coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa didn’t hold back.
“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,” Tagovailoa said. “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 another?”
Tagovailoa later added that he has spent much of McDaniel’s tenure unlearning some of the negative thoughts he began to believe about himself under Flores, who now works as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.
“If 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.”
Since McDaniel was hired in 2022, players have raved about the level of positivity that he brought to the organization. Both safety Jordan Poyer and defensive tackle Calais Campbell spoke highly of McDaniel on Monday.
“Coach McDaniel does a great job of making this a fun place to work,” Campbell said.
“As a coach, it is part of your responsibility to build your players up and to give them confidence to be able to go out on the football field,” Poyer added when asked about McDaniel’s coaching style.
McDaniel, however, appeared to downplay his role in helping Tagovailoa specifically.
“I’m not spending much time patting myself on the back for much,” McDaniel said Monday. “I think there’s a lot of players who have grown since I’ve been here and that growth is all that I care about. I’m really focused on pushing guys to be the best version of themselves.”
Flores spent three seasons as the Dolphins head coach, two of which included Tagovailoa’s first and second year. During that time, Tagovailoa threw for more than 4,400 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The Dolphins went 13-8 across the former Alabama star’s 21 starts.
In just two years under McDaniel, Tagovailoa has thrown for more than 8,100 yards with 53 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 2:26 PM.
