Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa says former coach Brian Flores made him think he didn’t belong

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is opening up about his relationship with former head coach Brian Flores, saying that Flores’ harsh criticism from early in his career had to be trained out of him.

Tagovailoa made the comments to Meadowlark Media’s Dan Le Batard when asked to describe the difference between Flores and the Dolphins’ current head coach, Mike McDaniel.

“Well, to put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, 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, you are the best fit for this, you are accurate, you are the best whatever, how would it make you feel listening to one or the other?” Tagovailoa said.

He then added: “Regardless of what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to actually believe it. I don’t care who you are, you could be the president of the United States. If you have a terrible person telling you things you don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing, you start to believe that about yourself. That’s sort of like what ended up happening. It’s basically been like two years of training that out of me.”

Tagovailoa was drafted fifth overall by the Dolphins in 2020, during Flores’ second year as a head coach. The coach-quarterback tandem spent two years together, and during that time Tagovailoa posted a 13-8 record, with 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. During Tagovailoa’s rookie season, he was benched multiple times in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. Miami failed to make the playoffs either year under Flores and Tua.

Since McDaniel took over in 2023, Tagovailoa has thrown 54 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, posting a 19-11 record, helping lead the Dolphins to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. In 2023, Tagovailoa played in all 17 games for the first time.

Flores is currently the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. He sued the NFL, Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants in 2022, alleging racial discrimination in their hiring practices, as well as alleging that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross pressured him to lose games on purpose in a tanking effort during his time as coach.