Why McDaniel Is Excited About Tua's Progress This Offseason

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel calls it a "cool process"

Tua Tagovailoa / JEFF ROMANCE/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA

Mike McDaniel has watched up close Tua Tagovailoa's breakthrough as an NFL quarterback, and the Miami Dolphins head coach says it's only going to get better.

Speaking a team OTA on Tuesday, McDaniel described Tagovailoa's progress since he arrived as head coach in 2022 and his work this offseason to make the 2024 season his best one yet.

“That’s been a cool process because you have two years under your belt together where all you’ve seen is his game progress and I think Year 3, we really got to take a step back and assess not just the things that he liked or looked comfortable with, but what are some things that maybe he hasn’t looked comfortable with in the past that we can get him some comfort levels with," McDaniel said. "We’ve kind of re-challenged ourselves and how we verbalize stuff, and the bottom line is our connectivity with how we see things and what we’re trying to do with every different assignment. That can always get cleaner and I think it really has. I think there’s been some cool things.

"He had two practices last week, and we saw some growth and development within what we’re specifically asking him to do. So it’s been very exciting because at this point we’re like, ‘All right, well, let’s really push ourselves to really challenge this guy,’ because all he ends up doing is rising to the challenge within what we ask him to do. I think to expect the same if not more growth within your game from each year, I don’t think is crazy. I think for us to expect just as much if not more from Year 2 to Year 3 is very safe for our expectations and I know he feels the same way, too.”

After earning his first Pro Bowl invitation as the AFC starter in 2023 when he led the league in passing yards, Tagovailoa has worked with QB coach John Beck, a Dolphins second-round pick in 2007, this offseason along with working on his body to drop some 10-15 pounds.

McDaniel, who last week called Tua "svelte," said he has seen diferences in his quarterback this spring. He also pointed out his past experience with Beck, starting from the time the two were together in Washington in 2011 when he was an assistant and Beck was one of the team's quarterbacks and later when Beck worked with QBs on McDaniel's teams.

“I think the deliberate intentionality with anything you do renders some unexpected consequences that are definitely desirable. I think he without thinking has probably generated a little more force on some throws that he’s trying to drive. I have actually extensive experience with the coach that he’s working with ... so there’s some familiarity with that which is awesome because with John, he knows what we’re trying to do and the direction or how we ask the quarterback to play. I think just that connectivity to your game and trying to unearth every single inch and iota of professional development; that in itself, you’re headed in the right direction. So I think there’s some things that I’ll probably see every day and when you talk to him, I think there’s some times that he’s effortlessly doing some of the things that he’s used to doing, just not having to think as much because he’s been so deep diving into his trade.”

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