Brian Flores was adamant that he didn't want Tua Tagovailoa as his quarterback, but Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier drafted him anyway. Some believe it was an order from Stephen Ross, which no longer matters, but what does is bigger than a former head coach's wishes.
Tagovailoa showed glimpses of what he could do under his former head coach, but under Mike McDaniel, he flourished, at least when he could stay healthy. The Dolphins quarterback isn't the same as he was in 2023, and now his future may be tied exclusively to his head coaches.
There is no way around this. If McDaniel departs at the end of the season, there is a good chance Tagovailoa follows within a year.
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa may have to prove he can play in the NFL outside of Mike McDaniel's system
McDaniel came aboard the Dolphins staff with the hopes of building an offense around a quarterback who needed to have his hand held. Tagovailoa had been through a lot under Flores, and he was broken.
McDaniel fixed the mental part of his problems, then set about to change an offensive system that wasn't utilizing what Tagovailoa did well.
It hasn't always been pretty or successful, but when Tagovailoa is on his game, he runs McDaniel's offense well, and when McDaniel is calling a good game, Tagovailoa flourishes. It's a Yin/Yang situation where one may not be as good without the other.
If McDaniel loses his job at the end of the season, and there is reason to believe that will be the case, Miami has a big decision to make with Tagovailoa. His contract is not conducive to being released, and there won't be teams knocking down the door to make a trade for him.
What will be interesting is whether or not a new head coach can bring in a rookie quarterback that he wants to develop. If he does, Tagovailoa will be on notice in 2026, and he could find himself benched in favor of the other quarterback getting playing time.
Of course, all of this could come down to the future of Chris Grier. Grier drafted Tagovailoa, and drafting his replacement may not be easy. In the simplest world, all three are tied together, and the successes and failures of each would impact the others. That isn't the case in Miami.
Regardless of what happens with Grier, the only two that are tied at the hip are McDaniel and Tagovailoa. This is the system that best fits the quarterback's skill set, and if he can't keep McDaniel employed with Miami, chances are he won't be either.
The truth is, Tagovailoa may not be able to learn a new way of playing football in a new system. The coach would need to hide his deficiencies by utilizing a similar approach that McDaniel was taking. A new coach isn't going to want to adopt another coach's style.