McDaniel's Strong Response to Tua Career Questions

Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel made clear his priority when discussing injured QB Tua Tagovailoa.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) looks on from the sideline against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Head coach Mike McDaniel cares deeply about his Miami Dolphins players, which should be evident to anybody who has watched or listened to him over the past two-plus years.

And there might not be a player to whom he's closest than Tua Tagovailoa, which is why he hasn't been interested since Thursday night in thinking about much to do with his quarterback other than supporting him and hoping to see him get better soon after the concussion he sustained against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

McDaniel has no use for timelines and wants to avoid addressing the hot-button issue of whether Tua could retire.

"I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject and it's more in line of actually caring about the human being and that's something that entirely you're talking about his career, right?" McDaniel said. "His career is his, and that's something that I really, really, really wish — I totally understand it, and it's not misplaced. I totally get how that's where people want to go to. I just wish that people would for a second hear what I'm saying that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him, so I'm going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care that that should be the last thing on your mind because – what do you think if I were to answer that question, I'd be like, 'All right, this is my thoughts on his career' and he read it. If he agreed with it or he disagreed with it, either way, I've just made him worse.

"So I'm not taking this opportunity. I don't think it's appropriate simply because of my care and regard, and I don't think those types of conversations when you're talking about somebody's career — it probably is only fair that their career should be decided by them."

McDaniel's comment was in line with what he earlier had said about the possibility of Tagovailoa, which would sideline him for a minimum of four games.

The truth is that McDaniel clearly was in a wait-and-see mode regarding Tua's injury, waiting for further details to materialize and days to pass.

"Realistically for me, first and foremost, I'm not assessing the injury through the lens of all right, so what does this mean for him playing?" McDaniel said. "And so just what I know to be of the utmost importance and what I really care about, it didn't really matter the severity of it. I think this is something that it's super important to – the whole, all the science behind concussions tells you what we've learned is how delicate the time is right after an injury and how important it is that you don't institute extra sources of anxiety. So from my vantage point, I feel it's supremely important in understanding that, that I'm not giving off any sort of vibes, I'm not trying to even look at, 'OK well, how serious is this relative to his past ones?' Really, really for me, I know the facts are that it's important that he gets healthy day by day and in that, the actual, the best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint.

"And knowing that and with my relationship with players — specifically with Tua, but with all the players — it's not in my DNA to think, 'Hey, what does this mean for…' What it means is that to properly prioritize what's most important I have to put his health as the primary. And so it's been 10 hours since I last talked to you guys. For me, I absolutely positively will not do anything to make anything worse or hurt anyone of our players, specifically guys that are in concussion protocol. Ironically, I think there's a lot of people that have vested interest in the Miami Dolphins. There's a lot of fans, and there's a lot of people that want to support, but quite literally, questioning timelines, that gives forth anxiety — trying to meet them, trying to assess what this means for playing. This is heavy stuff that you have to be diligent and deliberate and coaching up Tua, 'Hey, your job is to be a dad and to communicate daily' — and we'll have daily assessments with experts in the field and handle that. And that is the only thing that matters because you don't make matters worse by trying to — he would be able to feel if I was trying to vibe out and diminishing what this was based upon some symptoms.

"So literally I understand it completely and it's not like I would have thought any other way until I was in a position of finding out information of what's best for players in this situation, but talking about or having any sort of assumptions or planning — like I have no idea and nor should I, and I don't want to because I want him to be healthy. And the best way to be as healthy as fast as possible is to not focus on anything but being present; for him with [his sons] Ace and Maizy and [his wife] Annah and that's it."

RAIDERS COACH CHIMES IN

McDaniel's comments were made before a couple of NFL head coach counterparts weighed in on the topic, with the Las Vegas Raiders' Antonio Pierce having a particularly strong opinion.

Pierce, who played linebacker in the NFL for nine seasons, said Tagovailoa should retire.

"I'll be honest, I'd tell him to retire. It's not worth it," Pierce said. "Playing the game, I haven't witnessed anything like what's happened to him three times. Scary. You could see right away; the players' faces on the field. You could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. I just think at some point — he's going to live longer than he's going to play football. Take care of your family."

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, a former Dolphins quarterback who finished the 1993 game that gave Don Shula the NFL record for most career victories, also was asked about Tua.

"If it was one of our guys, you have to be very careful and do the right thing for the player. I think that's the most important thing," Pederson said. "It's part of the game that obviously we're trying to remove; I just don't know if we can fully remove it because of the nature of these hits. I think you just have to continue to think about the player and the health and safety of the player and making sure they're 1,000 percent healthy. Those are just decisions that I think, personally, as a player, you have to consider as you think about your career.

'Everybody wants to play, and they love this game so much, and they give so much to it that, when things like this happen, reality kind of hits a little bit, and it shows the human side of our sport."