Tua Tagovailoa Slams Ex-Coach Brian Flores for Major Setback

Things have been very different for Tua Tagovailoa in the Mike McDaniel era compared to his two seasons under former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores.

In a sit-down interview with "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" aired on Monday, August 19, the Pro Bowl passer slammed his former coach for wrecking his mentality with negativity.

"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 you haven’t earned this right," Tagovailoa said candidly.

"And (then) you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this.' ... Like, how would it make you feel listening to one or the other?"

He continued, "Then you hear it, you hear it — regardless of what it is, the good or the bad — and you hear it more and more. You start to actually believe that. I don't care who you are.

"That's sort of what ended up happening. It's basically been two years of training that out of not just me, but a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year."

Flores, 43, coached the Dolphins to a 24-25 record and zero playoff appearances in his three seasons at the helm from 2019 to 2021.

Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in 2020, started 21 games under Flores, combining for a 13-8 record, 4,467 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

In his second season under McDaniel, the 26-year-old threw for an NFL-best 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2023 alone.

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