Former Dolphins coach responds to Tua Tagovailoa’s criticism

Minnesota Vikings coach Brian Flores would have rather spent his Tuesday press conference talking about his current players than his two seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, the topic that was dominating the questions.

“I think something like this takes away from the guys here and the work that they’re doing,” Flores said. “We’ve had two games, went to Cleveland, and we’re talking about something else – and it’s important. But at the same time, I’m always thinking about our guys and their improvement and an opportunity for them to get better and for me to shed light on some of the things that they’re doing when I get up here, and not really be talking about me or a situation with me. For me, in a team sport, I’d rather be talking about them than myself.”

That’s when Flores tried “to turn the page” about seven minutes into his press conference, but it was around the 8:40 mark before anyone asked about the Minnesota defense.

Instead, the topic of interest was the comments made by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in an interview on DraftKings Network’s “The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz” on Monday. The former Alabama All-American was asked to describe the difference between his first two NFL seasons, when Flores was Miami’s head coach, and his past two, with Mike McDaniel at the helm.

“To put it in simplest terms,” Tagovailoa said, “if you woke up every morning and I told you 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. Like, you are accurate, you are the best whatever, you are this, you are that,’ like, how would it make you feel listening to one or the other? You see what I’m saying? And then you hear it — you hear it regardless of what it is, the good or the bad. And 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. If you have a terrible person that’s telling you things you don’t want to hear or that you probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start to believe that about yourself. And that’s sort of what ended up happening. It’s basically been – what? – two years of training that out of, not just me, but a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year all the way till now.”

In his initial response on Tuesday, Flores said: “Specific to the comments made by Tua, I just want to say, look, I’m happy, genuinely happy, genuinely happy for the success that Tua’s had, and I really wish him nothing but the best. And I think player relationships are very important to me. I think that’s kind of the foundation of coaching. I got into coaching because I was impacted as a young guy by my high school coaches, my college coaches, going all the way to Pop Warner. I got into coaching because I wanted to make that same kind of impact — positive impact — pour into young people, help them become, as (Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell) says all the time, the best versions of themselves. That’s really my goal always in coaching. So I wish nothing but the best to Tua.”

Flores was asked if he saw his relationship with Tagovailoa the same way the quarterback did.

“I think part of coaching is correcting,” Flores said. “I’m always going to correct. I’m always going to have a high standard. And I think, look, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on this situation, communication. I think there’s things that I could do better for sure, and I’ve grown in that way. And I’ve tried to apply the things that I can do better and the things that I’ve learned over the last two, three years.

“But I would say over the long haul, I’ve had a lot of great relationships over my 21-year career here in the league. Players, coaches, personnel, equipment, people in the kitchen, really across the board, I’ve had a lot of great relationships. I’m going to continue to do that. But I’m also always looking to get better and evolve.”

Flores said he felt the “terrible person” remark.

“Look, I’m human,” Flores said, “so that hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive for me. But at the same time, I’ve got to use that and say, ‘Hey, how can I grow from that, or how can I be better?’ And that’s really where I’m at from that standpoint.

“Do I feel like that’s me? No. But how can I grow from that situation and create a world where that’s not the case where anyone says that about Brian Flores?”

Flores said he wasn’t opposed to talking to Tagovailoa about their past.

“That’s something I’ve thought about,” Flores said, “and maybe if that time arises or is available, I’m certainly open to that. But I got a lot of other things going on, too, as he does.

“Again, I’m just really focused on the guys here, the work that we’re putting in here.”

The “guys here” include Minnesota safety Josh Metellus and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who walked to the lectern and briefly flanked Flores at the start of the press conference.

“We want to let him know that we’re behind him,” Metellus said as he departed.