If Brian Flores had his way, Tua Tagovailoa would not be playing for the Miami Dolphins, and he may not be playing in the NFL at all. Mike McDaniel being hired by Stephen Ross to coach the team changed all of that.
We may never know what went down during the hiring process. Stephen Ross and Chris Grier may have asked McDaniel if he wanted Tua to be the quarterback.
They may have said, "you have to take him as your quarterback," or maybe McDaniel hit the table in support of Tua. What we do know as fact, is that Flores did whatever he could to get rid of Tua.
Speaking on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Tua was asked about the duality of the two situations, and he didn't mince his words.
Tua Tagovailoa opens up about his relationship with Brian Flores
Tua said that it didn't matter if you were being told good stuff or bad stuff about yourself; eventually, when it was all you heard, you started to believe it. McDaniel's arrival changed Tagovailoa. Like the kid or not, support him or think he is horrible, he is the Dolphins quarterback of the future and McDaniel believes he is the right QB to run the offense.
Tagovailoa gave a brutally honest answer when comparing the two coaches.
“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…
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 19, 2024
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
"Imagine showing up at work everyday and being told how bad you are," Tagovailoa said.
Tua's success over the last two seasons didn't come overnight. McDaniel had to get into his head, reset the way he played football, read the field, moved in the pocket, took hits, and how he mentally thought about himself. McDaniel became a coach and to some degree, a therapist.
Since McDaniel has arrived, the Dolphins have flipped the script so to speak. They have secured back-to-back trips to the postseason and Tua has led the league in passing yards. His confidence is high and his teammates have seen a huge difference in his leadership.
On the field, Tua gets the credit, but clearly, McDaniel was the biggest influence in his turnaround.