You want to catch a pass from Tua? Here’s how. And Dolphins’ Grier, McDaniel weigh in
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is ready to throw a pass to 100 fans — and for a good cause.
But it’s not going to be cheap.
As part of “This Too Shall Pass” — a nationwide philanthropic effort involving pro athletes, actors and musicians — Tagovailoa will throw a single pass to 100 fans from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 27 at loanDepot park, where the Miami Marlins play.
The cost: $2,000 per fan.
People paying that $2,000 fee get a photo of themselves catching a touchdown pass from Tagovailoa, an autographed 16-by-20 photo of the catch and food from a barbecue.
Fans also can bring a guest, but the guest can only observe or hold a camera.
It’s important to note that Tagovailoa doesn’t set the cost or makes the rules, which are established by the national organizers of “This Too Shall Pass.”
Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Justin Herbert are among others holding their own “This Too Shall Pass” charitable events.
Each athlete chooses the charities that benefit from their event.
Much of the money raised will be given to Tagovailoa’s charitable foundation. The rest will go to organizers to cover costs, which include renting loanDepot Park, providing food for guests and hiring staffers and a disk jockey.
Sixty-seven people have signed up for the Tagovailoa event, leaving 33 open slots.
Here’s where to sign up.
For more information, contact Brandon Branch – brandon@whipfundraising.com or at 803-261-3444.
THIS AND THAT
▪ General manager Chris Grier, in recent days, publicly took some accountability for the team failing to win a playoff game during his six seasons as general manager.
“I have to take blame for that,” Grier said of the team falling short recently. “I don’t view this as a rebuild anymore. I think a lot of those [past seasons] were rebuilds. We’re in a place now where we have some young talent, young players. There’s an opportunity for us to be able to take advantage with a lot of things we do and we’ll be able to win games here.
“I would say the difference in those [previous eras] was they were rebuilds. I think [now] we’re just trying to supplement and keep building on what we have to push us forward.”
▪ Grier had an interesting observation about coach Mike McDaniel in his conversation in Indianapolis with several local reporters, including Miami Herald colleague Daniel Oyefusi.
“How he looks, you don’t think that he can connect with people like that,” Grier said. “But then, he’s just got this way and personality of dealing with people.
“When I got to know him and being around him, it was really interesting. He told us from Day 1 in the interview this was his dream opportunity and he had been waiting for someone, I guess, to acknowledge him for all the hard work he’s done. He made no bones about he wanted the job.
“He’s his own guy. I think if you talk to him, he has his own thoughts and beliefs. And I think they’re all from that same tree and have some of the same kind of philosophies on stuff. But even some of the stuff he’s talked about doing now is so outside the box.”
▪ McDaniel, in a lengthy Friday interview with Pat McAfee, said: “There’s literally no shortcut and it’s all through film to me. It’s deliberate practice and watching film. There’s nowhere to hide. Guys who don’t like to watch film, it catches up. It’s non-negotiable to me. You can tell in the coaching community the guys that watch a lot of film. You have the keys to the test.”...
On getting his first head coaching job, McDaniel told McAfee: “I feel like I won the lottery. Let’s see what I got.”
▪ Mike Gesicki’s camp has been expecting him to get the franchise tag (for $10.9 million) by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. The upshot of that, if it happens: Miami would keep an asset, either to keep or trade.
Here’s my Monday piece with nuggets on the Dolphins’ cornerback situation.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 5:49 PM.
