It's no secret that Brian Flores wasn't the biggest fan of QB Tua Tagovailoa during his time with the Miami Dolphins. The team's former head coach was reportedly very tough on Miami's signal caller, apparently wanting to give him the tough love that he saw Tom Brady get from Bill Belichick during his time in New England.
Well, if you believe Miami Herald beat reporter Omar Kelly, Flores had another QB in mind before the draft took place.
Kelly says that he was told that Flores didn't want the team to draft Tagovailoa at pick number five but instead wanted to take a lineman in that spot followed by a particular quarterback later in the first round: Jordan Love. He also repeats a prior report from USA Today reporter Safid Deen regarding Tagovailoa's treatment from Flores during the NFL Combine.
The tough love part certainly fits with what's been reported as far as Flores' harsh treatment of Tagovailoa in his first two season in the league. And Flores' brash, no-nonsense type of personality certainly didn't do the Dolphins' starter any favors with his confidence early in his career.
If the plan that Flores, who was fired after a 9-8 record following the 2021 season, supposedly wanted would have been followed through, the Dolphins certainly could have looked different right now in two of the most important spots on the field at quarterback and tackle.
There was quite the run on offensive tackles in the 2020 draft, with four of them taken in the first 13 picks. Only one of them would have been off the board at the Dolphins' pick at #5, and that's Andrew Thomas to the Giants at #4. Jedrick Wills, Mekhi Bechton, and Tristan Wirfs, in that order, were the next to go. Obviously Wirfs is the shining star of that group, but hey, who knows if that's who the Dolphins would have selected if they'd gone that route.
Love had a very promising 2023 as the new starter for the Packers, but we'll see if he can maintain that success in year two. It certainly didn't hurt that he had three years of learning behind Aaron Rodgers, something he surely wouldn't have had in Miami.
That all being said, things were far from terrible for the Dolphins' actual 2020 picks last season. Tagovailoa led the league in passing yards while making his first Pro Bowl. Austin Jackson - who the Dolphins selected at pick 18 - had a breakout year (and finally a healthy one) at right tackle, earning a new contract extension in the process.
However, we'll see soon enough if the Dolphins indeed wish they had drafted someone else based on whether they find a way to reach a long-term extension before the season gets underway.
