Brian Flores responds to Tua Tagovailoa comments: 'I wish him nothing but the best'

Flores said he's grown as a coach since his time in Miami and is genuinely happy for Tua's success.

Sep 12, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores talks with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) during a timeout during the second half of a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

As Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores walked up to podium on Tuesday afternoon, a pair of his current players came with him. Safety Josh Metellus and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips stood behind their DC for a second, with Metellus declaring to the assembled media members and cameras that they "just wanted to let y'all know we're behind him."

Flores has been under fire over the past couple days. On Monday morning, a video emerged of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa giving a scathing summary of his experience playing under Flores for two years in Miami. During an interview on The Dan Le Batard Show, Tagovailoa described the harsh words he heard from Flores on a daily basis, going so far as to call his former head coach a "terrible person."

On Tuesday, Flores knew he would be asked about Tua's comments. He wrapped up the opening statement at his press conference by saying he wishes nothing but the best for his old quarterback.

"I just want to say I'm genuinely happy for the success that Tua's had and I really wish him nothing but the best," Flores said. "Player relationships are very important to me. That's kind of the foundation of coaching. I was impacted as a young guy by my high school coach, my college coach. I got into coaching because I want to make that same kind of impact, pour into young people."

It's been widely publicized that the two did not have a good relationship. Flores was in his second year as the Dolphins' head coach when they drafted Tagovailoa fifth overall in 2020. After two seasons that resulted in 19 wins but no playoff appearances, Flores was fired in 2022 — in part because of the Tagovailoa factor, according to reports. The Dolphins then hired Mike McDaniel and have made two straight postseason appearances. Flores is entering his second season with Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings.

Flores didn't deny or push back against any of what was said by Tagovailoa, but did say he's done plenty of reflecting and has grown as a person and coach since his time in Miami.

"Part of coaching is correcting," he said. "I'm always going to correct. I'm always going to have a high standard. I've done a lot of reflecting on the situation, (on) communication. I think there's things that I could do better, for sure, and I've grown in that way. I've tried to apply the things I could do better and the things I've learned over the last two, three years.

"I would say over the long haul, I've had a lot of great relationships over my 21-year career in the league. ... But I'm also always looking to get better and evolve."

Flores was asked specifically about Tagovailoa's use of the phrase "terrible person." It's unclear if Tua was specifically calling Flores that or just using it loosely to prove his point — you can watch the clip here and decide for yourself — but it stood out either way.

"Look, I'm human, so that hit me in a way that I wouldn't say was positive for me," Flores said. "But at the same time, I've gotta use that and say hey, how can I grow from that? How can I be better? And that's really where I'm at from that standpoint. Do I feel like that's me? No. How can I grow from that situation and create a world where that's not the case that anyone says that about Brian Flores?"

Flores said he would be open to getting together with Tagovailoa at some point to mend fences, but currently, he's focused on the Vikings and the upcoming season. After several questions about the Tua situation, he made it clear that he wanted to turn the page and keep the attention on his team.

He did say that the support of his players, like Metellus and Phillips coming up to the podium with him, has meant a lot.

Josh Metellus (left) and Harrison Phillips joined Brian Flores in a show of support before Flores began speaking to reporters. Flores admitted Tua’s words hit hard, said he has evolved as a coach and wishes Tua nothing but the best. pic.twitter.com/U2cUPPLSpk

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) August 20, 2024

"I've gotten a lot of support from a lot of people in this building and other buildings as well," Flores said. "I was flooded with text messages yesterday. So that's nice. But at the same time, this is a team sport. I don't ever want it to be about anything that's specific to me."