The Dolphins’ new coach Mike McDaniel left no doubt in his confidence in Tua Tagovailoa being the team’s quarterback going into the 2022 season. In a video that Miami released Tuesday on social media, McDaniel told Tagovailoa in a FaceTime conversation that he was all in on the second-year quarterback.
“We’re gonna have an extensive professional relationship, my man,” McDaniel told Tagovailoa. “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?”
McDaniel’s immediate confidence in Tagovailoa comes after the Dolphins were in numerous rumors from last offseason up until late October to trade Tagovailoa, namely for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Dolphins sat at 1–7 before the league's deadline and Tagovailoa had stated he did not feel wanted by the Dolphins’ franchise. However, the tide turned in favor of Miami as the team ripped off seven consecutive wins and won eight of its last nine games.
Tagovailoa, who suffered a rib injury in Week 2 against the Bills, missed several games in the 2021 season. Upon returning in Week 6, he went on to finish the season throwing for 2,653 yards, 16 touchdowns, 10 interceptions while going 7–5 in the 12 games he started.
The Dolphins fired former head coach Brian Flores on Jan. 10 after securing back-to-back winning seasons and recently made the hire of McDaniel official on Sunday.
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