Tua Tagovailoa remembers the type of former head coach Brian Flores and comments: “They shouldn’t be here”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa described a stark contrast between the type of his current head coach Mike McDaniel and that of his former head coach, current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, on the Dan Le Batard Show on Monday.

When asked concerning the differences between the 2 coaches, Tagovailoa bluntly described Flores' style as abrasive.

“To put it very simply, if you woke up every morning and I told you, 'You're bad at what you do, you don't belong here, you shouldn't be here, that guy should be here, you don't deserve it,'” Tagovailoa said. “And then someone else (McDaniel) comes along and tells you, 'Dude, you fit the best here, you're precise, you're the best, whatever. You're this, you're that.' How would you feel listening to one or the other?”

Flores coached the Dolphins from 2019 to 2021. He was fired in January 2022 – and McDaniel was hired in February 2022 – after posting a 24-25 record in three seasons on the helm. Tagovailoa entered the league in 2020, when he threw for 1,814 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions in 10 games.

Tagovailoa threw for about 2.5 times that quantity of yards last season, scoring 29 touchdowns and throwing 14 interceptions, and helped Miami to an 11-6 record.

Tagovailoa said the coaching methods had affected his confidence and that lately he felt he had regained his confidence after being so heavily criticized during his time under Flores.

“No matter what it is, the good or the bad,” he said, “when you hear it more and more, you actually start to believe it.”

“And that's how it turned out. It's basically the result of two years of training – not just from me, but also from a few other guys who have been here since my first year and are still here today.”

The Dolphins recently signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension, making him one among the highest-paid quarterbacks within the NFL.

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