Tagovailoa bashed the 43-year-old in a Monday interview on the “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” saying that he didn’t feel he was an NFL quarterback until Mike McDaniel took over for Flores ahead of the 2022 season.
“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 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,'” the Alabama product said. “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other, you see what I’m saying?”
The southpaw also compared the situation with Flores to being president and having a “terrible person telling you things that you don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing.”
Miami selected Tagovailoa as the fifth overall pick in 2020 but he was benched twice in favor of veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick during his rookie campaign. After a better, but still uneven 2021 campaign, Tagovailoa has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC over the last two seasons.
He battled through numerous concussions in 2022 to finish ninth in the MVP voting and lead the league in yards gained per pass attempt (8.9), yards gained per completion (13.7) and passer rating (105.5) among other categories. Tagovailoa made his first Pro Bowl in 2023, played all 17 games and led the Dolphins to the playoffs for the second year in a row.
He led the NFL with a career-best 4,624 passing yards and also set high marks in completion percentage (69.3) and touchdown passes (29). Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212M contract extension this summer.
It’s fair to wonder if he would’ve ever become the player he is now under Flores, but the coach appears very willing to at least try to salvage the relationship.
