Video: Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa Says Brian Flores Told Him He Sucked, Didn't Belong

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa drew a stark contrast between how he was coached by Brian Flores and then Mike McDaniel.

"To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you that 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,'" Tagovailoa said in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show. "How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?"

Tagovailoa said he began to believe the negative comments made about his game and that "it's basically been, what, two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of the guys as well."

Flores' dismissal following the 2021 season was met with some surprise. He exited with a 24-25 record over three seasons, which wasn't a bad return considering the Dolphins executed a full-scale rebuild in 2019.

In 2022, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and three teams including Miami. He alleged he was the victim of racial discrimination and that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had incentivized him to lose games in 2019, among other claims. The league didn't find any evidence to support Miami's purported tanking, and a judge ruled in 2023 that Flores' claims against the Dolphins specifically would have to go through arbitration.

Tagovailoa's comments are likely to bring another reassessment of Flores' tenure in South Florida.

The 2023 Pro Bowler previously alluded to Austin Jackson's similar experience under Flores, and the offensive tackle confirmed his first two years under the former coach were difficult.

The numbers speak for themselves in terms of how much Tagovailoa has improved since McDaniel's arrival. He has thrown for 8,172 yards and 54 touchdowns in 30 starts over the last two seasons.

The straightforward conclusion was that an offensive-minded head coach knew how to get the most out of the southpaw compared to Flores, a longtime defensive specialist before coaching Miami.

Based on Tagovailoa's interview, the explanation goes much deeper than that.