Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn't mince words when asked about his experience under ex-head coach Brian Flores.
In an interview on "Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" on Monday, Tagovailoa revealed he didn't believe he was an NFL quarterback until Mike McDaniel replaced Flores in 2022. (Flores is now entering his second season as Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator.)
"To put it in simplest terms, 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 right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this,'" Tagovailoa said in the interview. "How would it make you feel listening to one or the other, you see what I'm saying?"
During his tenure in Miami, it seemed Flores was trying to undermine Tagovailoa. In the QB's rookie season in 2020, he benched him twice in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Per John Breech of CBS Sports, Flores spent most of the 2021 offseason trying to replace Tagovailoa with Deshaun Watson, who was on the trade block.
According to the Miami Herald's David Wilson, when McDaniel arrived, he showed Tagovailoa a 700-play highlight reel to rebuild his confidence. It worked. The former No. 5 overall pick has thrown for 8,172 yards and 54 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Although Tagovailoa has turned his career around, he admitted it has taken him two years to overcome negative thoughts about his time with Flores.
"You could be president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things that you don't want to hear or probably shouldn't be hearing, you're going to start believing that about yourself," Tagovailoa said. "And so, that's sort of what ended up happening."
Tagovailoa's story shows why it's paramount for teams to bring in an HC who supports a young QB. If the Dolphins had never hired McDaniel, the 26-year-old may have nosedived. He also may have never signed a four-year, $212M deal.
