Tua Tagovailoa calls Brian Flores 'terrible person' in scathing review

Tagovailoa threw for 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his first two seasons in the NFL, the second under Flores, before taking off in Years 3 and 4 under McDaniel.

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. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Tua Tagovailoa has made it very clear that he isn't fond of his two years playing under Brian Flores.

Flores, now in his second season as defensive coordinator in Minnesota, was head coach of the Dolphins from 2019 to 2021 and was leading the charge when Miami selected Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft.

His experience from April 23, 2020 to the day Flores was fired in January 2022 was apparently one to forget, and he didn't hold back when asked by Dan Le Batard about the difference between playing for Flores and current Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.

"To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do, that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven't earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this. You are accurate, you are the best whatever, you are this you are that,' like, how would it make you feel listening to one or the other?" Tagovailoa said.

"You see what I'm saying? And then you hear it, you hear it, regardless of what it is, the good or the bad, and you hear it more and more, you start to actually believe that. I don't care who you are, you could be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person that's telling you things that you don't want to hear or that you probably shouldn't be hearing, you're going to start to believe that about yourself. And that's sort of what ended up happening. It's basically been two years of training that out of, not just me but a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year all the way till now."

“If you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong, that you shouldn’t be here, that you haven’t earned this…

and then someone come and tells you, ‘You are the best fit for this…How you that make you feel?”

- @Tua describes the… pic.twitter.com/bBHI6IsVlj

— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) August 19, 2024

Tagovailoa threw for 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in his first two seasons in the NFL before taking off in Years 3 and 4 under McDaniel. He led the NFL with a 105.5 passer rating in 2022 and in 30 games under McDaniel he's thrown for 8,172 yards with 54 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

Flores is scheduled to hold a press conference with the media at 12:50 p.m. CT on Tuesday, and it's a good bet that he'll be asked about Tagovailoa's commentary.