Is the Dolphins Coaching Search All About Tua? And Would That Be the Right Move?
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was adamant in his press conference to announce the firing of head coach Brian Flores that the decision had nothing to do with the quarterback situation and that Flores' replacement would decide whether to move forward with Tua Tagovailoa as the starter.
If we're to believe the latest of the many insider reports this week, via sources, that apparently is not the case and the Dolphins indeed are looking for someone who is willing to work with Tagovailoa.
Here was the pertinent passage from the NFL.com story by Ian Rapoport:
"Tua Tagovailoa is expected to be the quarterback for the 2022 season, sources say, barring some sort of unforeseen occurrence. The organization's belief in him as their starter is considered significant, and it appears the search for a flashy replacement is over.
The franchise that was in trade discussions for Deshaun Watson for much of 2021 wants to build around and support Tagovailoa, rather than move on from him.
A new head coach will, source says, have the opportunity to evaluate every facet of the football team, including the QB. But the hope is to find a candidate who believes in him and can bring the best out of him."
This report is the latest in a series of, for lack of a better term, punch-counterpunch stories detailing Flores' issues with Tagovailoa, his strong desire to trade for Deshaun Watson, Flores' dealings with Tua, and so forth.
ARE THE DOLPHINS MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE?
But this latest report brings up all sorts of questions, none bigger than, is this the right move?
Why do the Dolphins suddenly feel so strongly about Tua that their next head coach needs to be on board with having him as the starting quarterback instead of looking for an upgrade?
And, make no mistake, it wasn't just Flores who wanted to bring in Watson via trade during the 2021 NFL season had the circumstances been different because at the very least Ross also was very intrigued by the idea until he decided Watson's legal "entanglements" were too much at that time.
Understand right away that the Dolphins could lose out on a potential great hire if that candidate doesn't share the organization's belief in the 2020 fifth overall pick.
And let's be clear that there's no consensus about Tua and his eventual NFL ceiling, but there's also no evidence that he's on his way to becoming an elite franchise quarterback.
TUA'S 2021 PERFORMANCE
Tua finished the season ranked 19th in the NFL in passer rating at 90.1, but even taking away his first two games — the opener at New England and his brief appearance against Buffalo before he went out with a rib injury — that figure only goes up to 91.5, which would tie for 17th in the NFL with Jared Goff.
And in the final four games, Tagovailoa's passer rating was an unsightly 74.4, lowlighted by his outing against the Tennessee Titans.
Of course, the refrain we heard all season from Tua supporters was something along the lines of, just wait until he has an offensive line and receivers around him.
There's no arguing that the Dolphins' offensive personnel isn't top notch, but this notion that Tua suddenly will become a gunslinger with a better supporting cast seems foolish. His skill set is suited to exactly what the Dolphins did on offense schematically, which is to say a lot of RPO with quick, short passes.
Tua has his defenders in the national media, as well as some detractors.
Maybe former Dolphins head coach and Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson put it best: "You can probably win with Tua but you've got to be really great around him."
Shouldn't the Dolphins want more from their quarterback?
More importantly, shouldn't their new head coach have the right to want more from their quarterback?
So why the insistence of moving ahead with Tua?
Could it be that Ross is listening to the fan base, a large portion of which definitely is behind Tagovailoa?
Could it be that the Dolphins don't want to admit so quickly that they made a mistake in taking Tua fifth overall, particularly when Justin Herbert keeps lighting up defenses (and if you can't see the difference between the two, particularly if you watched the final Sunday night game of the season, we can't help you)?
NOT CLOSING THE DOOR ON TUA
Understand that this is not a call for the Dolphins to dump Tua because they absolutely should not do that if they can't find a better alternative. But this notion of closing the door on potential upgrades seems short-sighted.
Forcing Tua on coaching candidates presents the real possibility of a potential great hire turning away.
Many have connected Brian Daboll to the Dolphins coaching job because of his one year working with Tua at the University of Alabama, the 2017 season that ended with Tua coming off the bench to give the Crimson Tide an overtime victory in the national title game with a long touchdown pass to DeVante Smith.
But that was college; this is the NFL. Daboll never would say it publicly, but what if he has determined that Tua's lack of ideal arm strength will make it impossible for him to duplicate his collegiate success? As an aside, let's not forget that Daboll has spent the past three years working with Josh Allen, who probably has the strongest arm in the league, and he was a finalist for the Chargers job last year where he could have ended up with Herbert, who just might have the second-strongest arm in the league.
Daboll is one of the seven candidates identified so far as being requested for interviews by the Dolphins, along with Kellen Moore, Mike McDaniel, Thomas Brown, Leslie Frazier, Vance Joseph and Dan Quinn.
The first four, including Daboll, are offensive coaches, while the last three are former head coaches with defensive backgrounds.
The Rapoport report certainly won't eliminate the latter three, though maybe it does suggest that an offensive coach would be the preference.
As a final thought, this sure smells a lot like 2016 when the Dolphins hired Adam Gase as their head coach in large part to see if he could maximize the talents of Ryan Tannehill.
The Dolphins did make the playoffs in Gase's first year, though it's difficult to suggest his tenure was a rousing success.
But apparently the Dolphins are going down the same road again.
