Tua Tagovailoa made headlines in the NFL world on Monday when he referred to former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores as “a terrible person” during an interview with The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Flores responded to Tagovailoa’s comments.
“Look I’m human. That hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive,” Flores, who is now the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, said. “I’ve got to use that and say how can I grow from that? How can I be better?”
As for his relationship with the former Alabama star, Flores took the high road, wishing his former quarterback well.
“I’m genuinely happy for his success,” Flores, who coached Tagovailoa during his first two NFL seasons in 2020 and 2021, said. “I wish Tua nothing but the best. Right now I’m focused on the 2024 Vikings.”
Brian Flores on Tua calling him a “terrible person”:
“Look I’m human. That hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive. I’ve got to use that and say how can I grow from that? How can I be better?” #Vikings @FOX9 https://t.co/RCmZS77Fgy pic.twitter.com/hTSRvuOoFw
— Jeff Wald (@JeffWaldFox9) August 20, 2024
Tagovailoa’s comments came in response to a question from Le Batard about the differences between playing for Flores and current Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. In answering the question, the Hawaii native didn’t hold back.
“To put it in simplest terms,” the NFL’s 2023 passing leader said, “if you woke up every morning and I told you that you sucked 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, 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…’ how would it make you feel listening to one or the other?”
Tagovailoa continued: “Regardless of what it is, the good or the bad, 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 telling you things … that you probably shouldn’t be hearing, you start to believe that about yourself. And so 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 there since my rookie year.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.