McDaniel's Strong Message to Tua
There will be no "I don't not feel wanted" quote from Tua Tagovailoa in 2022.
All along, the suggestions were that the Miami Dolphins were hiring their new head coach very much with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in mind, and there can be no doubt of that anymore.
In the Dolphins' continuing public introduction to new head coach Mike McDaniel, the team released on social media a video of a FaceTime conversation between McDaniel and Tagovailoa. And the message from McDaniel was crystal clear: He — and therefore the Dolphins — is all in on Tua.
"We're gonna have an extensive professional relationship, my man," McDaniel is heard saying to Tua. "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. And it's gonna be fun, man, it's gonna be work but I know you're not afraid of that.
"So 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?"
Along with being widely recognized as super smart, McDaniel also is known for his quick wit and he proved on the phone call when he turned toward the Dolphins' social media employee on the flight to South Florida with him and his family.
With McDaniel wearing earphones and Tua inaudible on the video, the new head coach quips, "He's telling me how excited he is. And that there's no other coach he'd rather play for the entire world, which I thought was nice since it is the first time I've really talked to him."
With that, McDaniel starts laughing, before turning serious again.
"I'm elated, bro. It is an unbelievable opportunity for me that I do not plan on wasting in the slightest. I promise you that. I'm all in. You're going to get the best out of me that you could possibly get. There's there's only one way to do anything great. So there's no shortcuts. Let's go do something. That's what's doing. It's on, bro. If you don't have eye black at home, you gotta go get some eye black. Because we're going. It'll be outstanding. I'm happy for you. I'm happy for myself and I think the Dolphins' fans should be happy as well."
A FRESH START FOR TUA TAGOVAILOA
Tagovailoa will be entering his third season in the NFL in 2022, but it will be the first time that the team has shown that level of commitment to him as the unquestioned starter.
In Tua's rookie year in 2020, there was Ryan Fitzpatrick around and the veteran was the starter at the beginning of the season and later came off the bench in two games — against Denver and Las Vegas — when the offense was struggling.
Last year it was all about the Deshaun Watson trade talk, which began in the offseason and never stopped until the trade deadline passed on the first Tuesday in November.
It was after the trade deadline passed that the Dolphins began their seven-game winning streak and it's been suggested there was a correlation, but it feels like too easy an answer from here because there were other, bigger factors at play: the schedule getting easier, particularly with injuries to some starting quarterbacks, the young defensive players had had time to adjust to the defense and the play-calling on that side of the ball became more aggressive, and the offensive line began playing more respectable football after a really, really tough first half of the season.
In light of McDaniel's comments and the team publicizing them, there really should be no speculation anymore about bringing in a quarterback who could challenge Tua, whether it be Watson, Russell Wilson or Jimmy Garoppolo — NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks had listed the Dolphins as one of the five best fits for him in 2022 in a column published Friday.
WHAT ELSE AT QUARTERBACK FOR THE DOLPHINS?
The Dolphins, however, will need a backup quarterback and it's going to need somebody who clearly understands he's coming in as the backup.
Jacoby Brissett was the backup in 2021, but he posted a mediocre 78.1 passer rating in 11 games, five of which he started, and he'll a free agent again this offseason after signing a one-year deal last March.
Among the more attractive quarterback options in free agency this offseason would be Marcus Mariota, Mitchell Trubisky and Tyrod Taylor, though the latter seems like a good fit for McDaniel's old team, the 49ers, in light of his longstanding relationship with new San Francisco assistant head coach Anthony Lynn.
Other pending free agent quarterbacks include Teddy Bridgewater, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston, and any of those also might work if they understand it's Tua's show in 2022.
HOW MUCH PRESSURE ON TUA?
With this level of commitment to Tua, something he again never has had before, it's on him now to prove the Dolphins right.
The arrival of McDaniel, given his reputation as a great offensive mind, can do nothing but help Tua and there should be additional help coming in the form of offseason acquisitions — whether through the draft or free agency — and maybe even through improved coaching.
The offensive line, for example, could take a significant jump even without a blockbuster addition if the Dolphins can land the right coach for that position, perhaps someone like Mike Munchak — this is where we'll mention that the 49ers have one of the best O-line coaches in the NFL, though don't count on him ever coming to Miami again because that's Chris Foerster and his stint as O-line coach in 2017 had a, to be kind, forgettable ending.
With all the factors mentioned above, Tagovailoa logically should take a step forward in 2022, but the question obviously has to be how big of a step can it be because Tua's physical limitations aren't going to magically disappear.
But the Dolphins clearly believe in Tua and they're all in.
Contrary to what some might believe, they did help him last offseason by keeping an offensive system with which he was familiar, by drafting Jaylen Waddle sixth overall and tackle Liam Eichenberg in the third round, and hiring Charlie Frye as quarterbacks coach.
What McDaniel and the team did with that phone call Tuesday already might be more meaningful than anything they did last offseason, and they're likely not done.
The ball then will be in Tua's court.
