Maybe the Miami Dolphins should’ve listened to then-head coach Brian Flores about how bad quarterback Tua Tagovailoa really is. On Wednesday, the announced the 27-year-old would be benched the final three regular season games in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers. At 6-8, the Dolphins no longer have a path to the playoffs and they figure it’s time to see what they’ve got on their depth chart for next year.
Flores, now the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, was criticized for his handling of Tagovailoa’s development from 2020-21. The Alabama product revealed in a 2024 interview with The Dan LeBatard Show that Flores constantly belittled him for his shortcomings, calling him a “terrible person.”
“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 then of Flores’ coaching style compared to current head coach Mike McDaniel, “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?”
Flores later responded and admitted his style of nurturing the young QB wasn’t the best approach. But as we see how Tagovailoa has developed under McDaniel, perhaps tough love was actually more productive.
Dolphins’ woes and benching of Tua Tagovailoa may prove Brian Flores right
While nobody is condoning bullying, as Flores did go over the top based on Tagovailoa’s accounting, the critiques of the Miami QB may have some underlying warrant to them.
The Dolphins fired Brian Flores after consecutive winning seasons because he didn’t support Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins are now about to have consecutive losing seasons and are benching Tua for the remainder of the year
Flo did nothing wrong
— David Howman
Brian Flores may not have been ready to be a head coach but he was damn right about Tua.
— Daniel Eliesen
Under Flores, the Dolphins went 24-25 but saw two consecutive winning seasons before he was fired — reportedly for his severe disbelief in his quarterback. McDaniel took the franchise to the playoffs in his first two years at the helm but now will see two consecutive losing seasons while Tagovailoa warms the bench.
The Dolphins passer threw for a career-high 15 interceptions this year, topping his previous career-worst of 14 in 2023 (also under McDaniel). His injury history adds to the list of disadvantages that have seemingly dragged the team down. At some point, the front office has to look in the mirror and decide whether it’s time to cut him loose and start over.
Tua Tagovailoa now leads the league in interceptions after this pick 😭
— Unfazed Sports
Now, Flores could’ve done a better job to turn Tagovailoa into a better player but maybe consider he possibly squeezed the best out for McDaniel to benefit from in those first two years, especially since there’s been such a dramatic drop off since then.
Who knows, maybe Tagovailoa lands somewhere else or has a resurgence like some other left-for-dead QBs in the league. But for now, Miami learned the hard way that its 2020 first-round selection has come up way short of expectations.
