The Tua Tagovailoa saga took a dramatic turn after the Miami Dolphins were eliminated from the playoff chase last Monday night. Benched in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers, the offensive system may not suffer as much as fans may think.
From media members to former players, Ewers has been praised for how he has handled the drama that has once again taken a seat at the Dolphins training center, but now his former college coach is giving his endorsement to the young QB.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian coached Ewers while he was with the Longhorns. He sees Miami as a great fit for his former QB. In fact, he sees Mike McDaniel running a similar offensive style that should bode well for the Dolphins.
Quinn Ewers' Miami Dolphins debut may not be as bad as other backup QBs have suffered through
Mike White, Tyler Huntley, Zach Wilson, and even Teddy Bridgewater have all tried to jump into the McDaniel offense and have struggled, if not outright failed. Ewers may have more success.
Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers:
— The List - Dolphins Podcast (@TheListFinsPod) December 20, 2025
"Once you don't go early (in the draft), you hope to go to a system that fits you. I don't know if there was a better fit for Quinn than with Mike McDaniel.
It's bittersweet because I had Tua as well. I know they have a great relationship." pic.twitter.com/rmxjzOHCiH
Sarkisian sees parallels between the offense he runs at Texas and the one McDaniel runs in Miami. Shortly after being named the Dolphins' starter, Ewers also said that both systems were similar. As Ewers put it, they both run motion and give the defense "Eye-candy" pre-snap.
This is one of the reasons the Dolphins believe Ewers is ready to start. He has had all but three games to learn the system, he has seen it run in practices, and got his feet wet against the Browns before heading back to the emergency third quarterback role.
Where other QBs have failed is where Ewers may excel. Knowing the intricacies of the offense will be important. For four years, fans have endured other QBs stepping in and not being able to understand the system. McDaniel doesn't make adjustments that eliminate portions of the playbook simply because the QB is new to the system. He expects them to learn it.
This has been a huge knock on McDaniel since he arrived. Now, it may be Ewers who saves McDaniel his job. If Ewers plays well the next three weeks, Stephen Ross may look at this as the opportunity the team needs to move on from Tagovailoa and pair the head coach with a quarterback more capable of running the offense.
Regardless, seeing Ewers on the field will be refreshing, even for a few meaningless games.