Vikings Coach Defends Brian Flores After Tua Tagovailoa's Recent Criticism

Karl Rasmussen | Aug 19, 2024

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores watches his team play against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Tua Tagovailoa made headlines Monday following comments he made about former Miami Dolphins coach and current Minnesota Vikings assistant Brian Flores.

Speaking on the Dan Le Batard Show, Tagovailoa indicated that Flores was often overly critical of him to the point where it began to take a toll on his confidence.

In response to Tagovailoa's scathing review of Flores, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell shared his thoughts on the matter, offering high praise for Flores.

"I don't particularly have a comment on something that took place with another team, or I don't like to comment on comments of other players on other teams, but I can just tell you I know that the players Flo works with, he's got great relationships here," O'Connell said [via Kevin Seifert of ESPN]. "He really has. I know [Minnesota reporters] have heard a lot of them talk about how much they enjoy playing for him, and how much I enjoy working with him every day, and that's all I can really comment on, and I'd just like to leave it at that."

Flores was the Dolphins' head coach from 2019 to '21. As such, he oversaw Tagovailoa's rookie season in 2020 and his second season in '21. Tagovailoa took over as the starting quarterback midway through his rookie campaign.

During the interview, Tagovailoa broke down the stark contrast between the coaching style of Flores and Miami's current head coach, Mike McDaniel. He made clear that he prefers the positive approach that McDaniel brings, as opposed to the hard-nosed tough coaching style of Flores.

With Tagovailoa's comments circulating on social media, O'Connell made clear that the perception of Flores in Minnesota is greatly different to what the Dolphins' quarterback described.