One of the biggest questions surrounding the Dolphins over the last few years has been Tua Tagovailoa’s status within the organization. While Miami made a big investment in the former Alabama quarterback, drafting him fifth overall in 2020, he’s been both benched and subjected to consistent trade rumors since then. New coach Mike McDaniel, however, appears to be a big fan, calling Tagovailoa on his recent flight to Miami and promising the young QB his job is to “get all that greatness out of you.”
“We’re gonna have an extensive professional relationship, my man,” McDaniel told Tagovailoa over FaceTime, as the Dolphins documented. “One thing I know about you is, you have the ambition to be great. My job is to coach you to get all that greatness out of you … This is an awesome day for me, and I’m damn sure gonna make sure that when you look back on this day, you’re gonna be like, ‘Damn, that was one of the best days of my career, too.’ But I’ll earn that from you, you got me?”
Tua, meanwhile, echoed McDaniel’s excitement during their first conversation.
“He’s telling me how excited he is and that there’s no other coach he’d rather play for in the entire world, which I thought was nice since that’s the first time I really talked to him,” McDaniel explained. “I’m elated … It is an unbelievable opportunity for me that I do not plan on wasting in the slightest.”
Tagovailoa, 23, enters the 2022 offseason as the Dolphins’ starter. Signed through at least 2023, he started 12 games as a second-year player, posting a 7-5 record while throwing 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a rookie, Tagovailoa started nine games, going 6-3 and finishing with 11 touchdowns and five picks. The previous coaching staff, led by Brian Flores, repeatedly endorsed Tagovailoa publicly despite reports of the team’s strong interest in trading for Texans QB Deshaun Watson.
