Tua Tagovailoa Calls Former Coach 'A Terrible Person'

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa referred to his former head coach Brian Flores as "a terrible person" during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Monday (August 19).

Tagovailoa, 26, compared his first two NFL seasons under Flores -- now the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings -- to his last two seasons under current Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel , noting the swift change in their approaches and how it affected his development.

“If you woke up every morning and I told you, you sucked 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, you haven’t earned this right,” Tagovailoa said. “Then you have someone else come in and say, ‘Dude, you’re the best fit for this, you are accurate, you’re the best whatever, you are this, you are that.’ How would it make you feel listening to one or the other? You see what I am saying?”

Flores, who was hired by the Dolphins in 2019 after serving several roles on Bill Belichick 's New England Patriots staff, went 24-25 during his three seasons in Miami, having been fired despite many viewing his tenure as overachieving, which led to his lawsuit against the NFL claiming racial discrimination resulted in his termination. Tagovailoa, who was selected No. 5 overall during Flores' second season, was benched for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick on several occasions during his shared tenure with the head coach, throwing for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 23 games.

“You hear it, regardless of what it is the good or the bad,” Tagovailoa continued. “You hear it more and more you start to actually believe that. I don’t care who you are. You can be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things you don’t want to hear or things you shouldn’t be hearing, you are going to start to believe that about yourself. That’s sort of what ended up happening. It’s been two years of training that out of, not just me, but of guys that have been here since my rookie year.”

Tagovailoa has flourished since the hiring of McDaniel in 2022, throwing for 8,172 yards, 54 touchdowns and 22 interceptions on a revamped offense that includes All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill -- acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 -- and the quarterback's former Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle , who was selected No. 6 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old recently agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million extension, which makes him the fourth-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.