Tua Tagovailoa criticizes Brian Flores in an interview. The Miami Dolphins quarterback calls the former head coach a “terrible person” while praising current coach Mike McDaniel.

Tua Tagovailoa is not known for being a great advocate of trash talk.

In public, the Miami Dolphins quarterback usually keeps a low profile and prefers to let his actions speak for themselves on the pitch despite some media criticism.

But in an interview on “The Dan LeBatard Show”, he opened up and spoke about his former head coach Brian Flores.

After years of working together, he lashed out at the 43-year-old. At the same time, Tagovailoa praised his current coach Mike McDaniel.

Tua Tagovailoa on difficulties with Flores

Tagovailoa signed a new four-year, $212.4 million contract with the Dolphins this summer. In the past two seasons under coach Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa really blossomed and was usually only stopped by injuries.

The fact that Tagovailoa did not shine so brilliantly two years earlier under Brian Flores was apparently due to huge personal differences between coach and quarterback.

When asked provocatively what the difference is between a coach who believes in you and a coach who doesn’t, Tagovailoa launched his verbal all-round attack on Flores.

“If you woke up every morning and you were told that you’re miserable at what you do, that you don’t have what it takes to do what you should do. And that you shouldn’t be here, that this other guy should be here. That you don’t deserve to be where you are. And then someone else comes in as a coach and tells you, ‘Kid, you’re the best player for this’ – how would you feel listening to one guy and then the other?”

“And you hear that all the time. First the constant negative and then the constant positive. You keep hearing it over and over again. Of course, at some point you start to believe it. I don’t care who you are. You could be the President of the United States, if you have a bad person around you who keeps telling you things that you don’t want to hear or shouldn’t hear, eventually you’re going to start believing it about yourself. And that’s what happened. That’s how it was for two years in training, not just for me, but for other players who are still there now.”

Flores probably wanted to replace Tagovailoa

In his rookie season in 2020, Tagovailoa was replaced twice in the fourth quarter by Ryan Fitzpatrick. In the 2021 season, there were rumors that Flores wanted to replace Tagovailoa with Deshaun Watson.

However, Flores was fired after the 2021 season. McDaniel came in as his successor. In his first season under him, Tagovailoa threw for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns despite missing four games due to injury with a concussion. Last season, he threw for 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns. A career best.

“Right now I’m maximally focused on what the booth needs and what the circumstances are. I don’t spend a lot of time patting myself on the back. Many players have developed enormously since I’ve been here and that’s all I’m interested in. I’m still focused on pushing them to be the best version of themselves so they can reach new heights. That keeps me pretty busy. So I don’t have time to reflect much on what has gone before. Today is outstanding,” said Coach McDaniel when asked about Tagovailoa’s comments.

Until recently, Tagovailoa had always avoided talking about his relationship with Flores in public. In April 2022, for example, Tagovailoa was asked to describe his relationship with the former coach. At the time, he said: “That’s a big question. I’ll just say this. I’m glad he drafted me for the Miami Dolphins. That’s what I’m saying. “

Tua vs. Flores: Only one head-to-head duel so far

There has only been one meeting between the Dolphins and Flores since Flores was fired. In 2022, Miami won 16-10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers when the former coach was under contract as linebackers coach. After the game, Tagovailoa was asked if he had talked to Flores around the game. His answer was direct and telling: “No.”

When McDaniel took over in 2022, he is said to have shown Tagovailoa a highlight reel of 700 plays to boost his confidence, in which the quarterback showed good approaches and actions.

Flores is currently in his second season as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell had this to say about the recent Tagovailoa statements:

“I don’t want to talk about another team or what used to be on another team. And I don’t want to comment on comments that are about other players on other teams. All I know is that ‘Flo’ has a great relationship with our players. The players love playing for him and enjoy it. I enjoy working with him. I’ll leave it at that. “

Tom Brady disagrees with Tagovailoa

Tom Brady, the most successful NFL player in history, contradicts Tagovailoa on the “PatMcAfee Show”:

“If the coach was hard on me, then I’m in a position to accept that difficult coaching. I actually needed that for my development. It motivated me. That’s the point where you have to take responsibility. Where you are challenged. You can’t allow yourself to have such a big ego that any criticism diminishes your confidence.”

Brady went into a rage: “Sometimes you hear things that you don’t want to hear but need to hear. The other players also see that I’m hard to deal with. If I accept that and become a better player, then I’m also a role model for the rest of them to reach the next level. Because then everyone questions how they can get better.”

Brady concludes with the following theory: “Imagine you have a Super Bowl game in two weeks, for example in Las Vegas. You have millions upon millions of people watching you closely. At that point, you better be tough. If you still have a weakness or a bad attitude at that point and then a situation comes up where you’re presented with a challenge, with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then you’re more than tested. And if your coach has tested you hard several times before, your teammates have tested you hard, then you’ll be better equipped to beat your competition in those moments.”