Tua, Kevin Stefanski Out to Silence Doubters in 1st Year with Falcons After Dolphins, Browns Exits

After being released by the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa joined the Atlanta Falcons and quickly found synergy with new head coach Kevin Stefanski.

While speaking to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo at the annual league meeting in Phoenix on Sunday, Stefanski, who was fired by the Cleveland Browns before being hired by the Falcons, said that he and Tagovailoa share the same motivations heading into the 2026 season.

"There's something to be said when you're fired," Stefanski said. "I can attest to that. You want to prove people wrong. You have a chip on your shoulder. I think where I'm coming into this, where Tua's coming into this is, listen, this is not exactly how you thought it would go, but guess what, that's the reality, and how are we gonna respond? I think that's what he's made of. You look back his career, you look back at his college career, he's responded."

Before getting the chance to silence his doubters, Tagovailoa will have to compete against third-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job in Atlanta. Penix is recovering from a partially torn ACL, but Stefanski sounded optimistic about his progress.

"I'm excited for Mike to get back out there," Stefanski said. "He has the right attitude. He is in the building every day, all day, rehabbing to get ready to go. I don't have a timeline on what that looks like or when that will happen, but he'll be ready to put his best foot forward. He's focusing on what he needs to focus on right now, which is the main thing, which is getting healthy."

Still, Tagovailoa will have every opportunity to prove that he's the right signal-caller to lead the Falcons, who haven't made the playoffs since 2017. Stefanski plans to take the lessons he learned from getting fired in Cleveland to Atlanta as he embarks on a new challenge.

"That's part of life is learning, scuffing your feet, getting back up, figuring it out. A lot of things that, you know, you can't change the past, but I look forward to, OK, I'm gonna take that with me. There's things that I know that I can do better. I'll start there. I know that," Stefanski said. "You have to have a growth mindset really in any line of work, but certainly in this line of work, where if it didn't work the first time, I'm gonna make sure I do everything in my power to get this football team where it needs to go."