Tua Tagovailoa Unleashes Scathing Attack on Former Coach Brian Flores: ‘A Terrible Person’
Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has launched a blistering attack on his former head coach Brian Flores, labeling him “a terrible person”.
Tagovailoa’s criticism stems from Flores’ alleged consistent belittling of his abilities, reportedly telling him how bad he was at football.
Flores was the Dolphins’ head coach from 2019 to 2021, during which time he selected Tagovailoa fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
After Flores’ firing, he filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, claiming improper treatment of minority coaches.
However, Tagovailoa’s remarks paint a different picture of Flores’ coaching style.
Tagovailoa described former head coach Brian Flores as a ‘terrible person’ in an interview
Flores has not responded to Tagovailoa’s remarks but has viewed their relationship differently
In an interview, Tagovailoa explained how Flores’ constant criticism affected him, saying: “If you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong, that you shouldn’t be here, that you haven’t earned this… and then someone comes and tells you, ‘You are the best fit for this…’ How would that make you feel?”
Tagovailoa continued: “You have a terrible person that’s telling you things that you don’t wanna hear or you probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re gonna start to believe that about yourself.”
Last season, under new head coach Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa threw for a career-best 4,624 passing yards, more than he had in his two seasons under Flores.
Flores has not directly responded to Tagovailoa’s comments, but described their dynamic as a good “player-coach relationship”.
Tagovailoa, however, strongly disagrees, stating that it’s taken him two years to “train out” the negative thoughts instilled by Flores.
The Vikings and Dolphins do not play this season.
“If you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong, that you shouldn’t be here, that you haven’t earned this…
and then someone come and tells you, ‘You are the best fit for this…How you that make you feel?”
— @Tua describes the… pic.twitter.com/bBHI6IsVlj
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 19, 2024