Tua: Rookie year ‘below average’; Fins future unclear
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reflected on his rookie season and discussed his future in two interviews. And more on the Dolphins, Deshaun Watson, DeVonta Smith.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa began a series of national interviews on Monday with an admission:
He considered his rookie performance subpar.
And Tagovailoa, when pressed on the issue, conceded that he cannot be sure that he will be a Dolphin this fall.
“I would describe my rookie season as below average,” Tagovailoa told
Adam
Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “This past season wasn’t up to my expectations that I have for myself. But there were a lot of things I was able to learn from. Being able to look at the defenses and how different all of the schemes are with defensive coordinators. Everyone runs different things. Hopefully I can compartmentalize everything and have a much better season next year.”
Meanwhile, Dan Patrick — whose show now airs on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock — asked Tagovai
loa this:
“I was going to buy a
Tua Dolphins jersey in the offseason. I just want to make sure you’re still going to be there. Should I wait until August?”
To which Tagovailoa responded:
“Honestly, I’m not too sure. I can’t control things that I can’t control. What I can do is continue to work hard.”
Tagovailoa said he had not heard rumors about a Deshaun Watson trade until his agent informed him.
The Dolphins haven’t broached the Watson rumors to Tagovailoa because, well, it would be premature. But we’re told the Dolphins have shrugged off or dismissed the rumors to NFL people who have inquired to them about Watson, much as they did weeks before they traded Laremy Tunsil to Houston in 2019.
(And no, that does not mean that Miami automatically will trade Tagovailoa as they did with Tunsil. It’s too soon to know, and Houston controls that process more than Miami does.)
One NFL person who spoke to the Dolphins said the Dolphins expect any Houston decision on Watson to stretch many weeks.
More nuggets from Tagovailoa during those interviews:
Asked if he believes that Dolphins coach Brian Flores considers him a franchise quarterback, Tagovailoa said:
“In my mind and in my heart, I would like to hope so. With the way things went last year, you always have to prove yourself to do better and I want to do better . ... ”
He said he understood being benched in the second half of the Denver and Las Vegas games.
“In the heat of the moment, it just wasn’t working for me,” he said. “Coach did what he thought was best for the team and it was what was best for the team. If I didn’t have the relationship I have with the coaches and Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick], it would have been a little bit different. Fitz was a great help.”
He said one of the biggest adjustments this season was needing to tell receivers where they should line up before plays. He said that wasn’t required of him at Alabama.
He told Patrick: “I have really high expectations for myself, and I didn’t meet those expectations this past year.”
COORDINATOR UPDATE
Four weeks after Chan Gailey abruptly resigned as Dolphins offensive coordinator, the position remains open.
That’s led to some logical speculation: Perhaps the Dolphins have surreptitiously lined up their next offensive playcaller but are not able to make the hire official since he’s coaching in the Super Bowl.
That might be the case, but we can probably strike one name off the list.
Harold Goodwin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ assistant head coach and run game coordinator, told the Miami Herald on Monday
that he has not had any conversations with the Dolphins about the opening.
Goodwin has been an assistant in the NFL for nearly two decades and served as the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive coordinator from 2013 through 2017.
But Goodwin, like Buffalo Bills quarterback coach (and former University of Miami great) Ken Dorsey, apparently is not on the Dolphins’ radar.
The Herald reported last week that Dorsey had likewise not been contacted by Flores.
The Kansas City Chiefs, who face the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55, also have what seems to be an appealing candidate on staff: passing game coordinator Mike Kafka, who speaks to reporters Tuesday.
The Dolphins also haven’t ruled out promoting either Eric Studesville or George Godsey, who shared playcalling duties in Saturday’s Senior Bowl, which Flores and his staff coached.