Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is standing by Tua Tagovailoa despite QB’s recent struggles

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel met with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa several times this week, as he always does.

They discussed what went wrong in Tagovailoa’s last start, when he threw three interceptions for the second straight game and was pulled in the fourth quarter for rookie Quinn Ewers.

McDaniel has expressed overwhelming confidence in Tagovailoa since becoming Miami’s coach in 2022, but he has recently emphasized the need for his quarterback’s play to improve. Despite Tagovailoa’s struggles amid a 1-6 start, McDaniel indicated Wednesday that there’s no strain in the pair’s relationship.

“We had a great hour-and-a-half meeting yesterday,” McDaniel said. “We had a great hour meeting the day before, as Tua and I have always operated. I think there’s zero uncertainty with Tua on my conviction in him and my belief in him. We’re both very eager to do better at our jobs, and we’re both very committed and trusting of each other to respond to what is necessary for the team to do better.”

Tagovailoa has thrown 10 interceptions this season, tied with Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith for the most in the NFL, and he is on pace to surpass the career-high 14 picks he threw in 2023. He has completed 139 of 205 passes for 1,313 yards this season, but has appeared to regress from his 2023 form, when he threw for a career and league-best 4,624 yards.

Tagovailoa said recent conversations with McDaniel have been tough. But they’ve been needed.

“You’ve got to have that in a relationship,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “It can’t always be, ‘Here’s your flowers. Here’s roses. Hey man, you had a bad game? It’s alright buddy.’ You’ve got to have those tough conversations. And I’ve had those tough conversations with him this week.'”

Tagovailoa’s uneven play this season has come with massive criticism over the past few weeks, stemming largely from the quarterback calling out teammates for being late to player-led meetings, then following those statements with one of the worst performances of his career on Sunday.

Tagovailoa completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards against the Browns. One of his three interceptions was returned for a touchdown. And he finished with a 24.2% passer rate.

“He’s at a high-profile position, and that is the expectation,” McDaniel said, “is to have standards that he has for himself. And he knows that as the franchise quarterback, when you don’t live up to your own standard, you’re probably going to get a lot of unintended consequences by sheer result.

“And you’re going to hear about it. And I have confidence based on my history with him that he’ll respond in the appropriate manner, which I made sure to communicate with him. And he’s received it and pressed forward to the Atlanta Falcons, which our entire team is very focused on.”

Tagovailoa took accountability for his poor play, noting that his ball placement needs to improve against the Falcons, who have the No. 1 pass defense in the NFL.

Miami has a minus-6 turnover differential, and its once high-flying offense is averaging 279 total yards per game and only 92.4 on the ground – the third-lowest mark in the NFL.

“I go out there with the expectation to help our team win,” Tagovailoa said. “When you turn the ball over, and when you turn the ball over the way I have turned the ball over this year, you can’t expect to help the guys win the game. My job as the quarterback is to get our offense going, march down the field, put points on the board – regardless of what that looks like.”

McDaniel has faced almost as much criticism amid Miami’s worst start since 2021, especially after the Dolphins looked unprepared and sloppy in Sunday’s 31-6 blowout against a struggling Browns team.

He reiterated that he’s confident players are still receptive to his coaching. To make sure of it, he’s put an emphasis on having conversations with players throughout the week.

“My confidence comes from direct communication from them, not in a meeting form but quite literally on the ground floor of the facility,” McDaniel said, “whether it’s 5:45 (a.m.) this morning, or it was 5 p.m. yesterday. … They’ve been very focused on the Atlanta Falcons, which is the only thing that I care about because I know in the NFL, if you don’t have 100 percent focus on the opponent, the opponent will make you regret that.”