Anytime there’s a coaching change in the NFL, or any sport for that matter, the players who are there for the regime swap are going to be pelted with questions about the differences between the two.
For the Miami Dolphins, there doesn’t seem as if there could’ve been a more drastic shift than the personalities of Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel, outwardly at least.
Obviously, on any team, the quarterback is looked at as the leader and spokesman for the guys in the locker room, so that responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Tua Tagovailoa. And, in the few times that we’ve heard from the former Alabama quarterback, he’s been extremely complimentary of his new head coach while skirting the questions about his former one.
At Tagovailoa’s charity event “Luau with Tua” earlier in the month, the quarterback discussed what it was like having his coaches in attendance.
“To be able to have our OC, my quarterbacks coach, our head coach here in support of this, to me, I’ve never witnessed that,” Tagovailoa said.
On Wednesday, for the first time since Flores’ firing and McDaniel’s hiring, Tagovailoa met with the full contingent of South Florida media and was asked if he was surprised that the team made a coaching change.
“I would say I have no comment towards any of that,” Tagovailoa said. “I don’t come up with those decisions. I don’t make those decisions.”
Then, he was immediately asked about his relationship with Flores.
“That’s a big question,” he said. “Well, I’ll tell you this. I’m very thankful that he drafted me to come here to play for the Miami Dolphins. That’s what I’d say.”
However, when it came to talking about the relationship with McDaniel, he had much more to say.
“I don’t know if you’ve seen the videos of him at the Luau,” Tagovailoa said. “I think that speaks a lot. That’s kind of how the relationship has been. Very supportive. Wants to hang out. I go up there to his office, and tell him I got a couple of the guys coming over to hang out. He feels bad that he didn’t get an invite to come over and hang out. It’s been a really cool relationship. It’s been different, but it’s been really cool.”
Tagovailoa discussed what it means to have support from the coaching staff and even his response seemed pointed.
“Well, I think support for any of us, as players, means a lot, We understand that the NFL it’s a tough industry. It’s tough to play because you’re playing against the best every Sunday, but to be able to have support of the head coach, the head guy, that should tell you a lot.”
One issue that was rumored last season was the difference in personalities between Flores and Tagovailoa, and Tagovailoa may have hinted at some of that when answering a question about being a leader.
“I think the cool thing about being on this team under Mike is Mike doesn’t force you to be what you’re not or what you don’t want to be,” Tagovailoa said. “If this is how you lead, that’s all he wants you to do is lead the way you lead. He doesn’t want anyone to ‘pull that guy to the side and tell him how bad his route was and come back to the huddle.’ It’s more like ‘hey, go talk to the guy. Go tell him what your thoughts are. He’ll tell you what his thoughts are. You guys meet in the middle.’”
He might not be going right out and saying it, but reading between the lines, it’s clear that Tagovailoa and McDaniel’s relationship is off to a much better start than where he was with his last coach.