Miami Dolphins: Mike McDaniel shares his belief in Tua Tagovailoa

As Mike McDaniel takes over as Miami Dolphins head coach, he has to start evaluating his roster. That starts with the quarterback — and he seems sold on Tua Tagovailoa’s abilities.

Tagovailoa just wrapped up his second NFL season for the Dolphins after going No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. It’s been a rollercoaster couple years for Tagovailoa, but McDaniel doesn’t seem worried about his future as a starter.

In fact, he gave a great answer about how much he believes in the former Alabama star. He realizes his job is to now help Tagovailoa grow into a great quarterback.

“My belief in Tua is that he’s a football player on this team that’s trying to get better, and the biggest message I have for all players, really, the message should be about the team,” McDaniel said, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “And what I mean by that is it’s really about the team collectively getting better and there’s a responsibility of the quarterback to do so but I’m not sitting here concerned with how good Tua can be. I’m concerned with, as a collective unit, what we can grow together? Because that’s what wins football games. I haven’t seen a quarterback win a football game by himself ever, really. He has to have somebody to throw to. He better not be getting tackled before he throws, so somebody better block. And the defense had better not allow them to score.”

“But the biggest thing for me with Tua is that I want him to come in and work every day, and I’m very confident that he will. I want to provide teachers that can develop him. I’m very confident in the people we’re discussing this week, and the plan we have for that. And, ultimately, all you want is a guy that’s driven to be great, a guy that’s driven to get better and it gives you a chance and it’s my job to make sure that he has the best chance to showcase his talents and that’s everyone’s job, really.”

New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel calls Tua Tagovailoa

As Mike McDaniel gets ready to take his first head coaching job, he has to build a relationship with his new quarterback. That’s why he made an important phone call on the plane to Miami.

McDaniel jumped on FaceTime with Tua Tagovailoa to introduce himself and share part of his vision for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins captured the call on video, and McDaniel committed to making Tagovailoa the best quarterback he can be.

“I just had to get on with you real quick,” McDaniel said on the call. “We’re going to have an extensive professional relationship, my man. 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. And it’s going to be fun, man. It’s going to be work, but I know you’re not afraid of that.”