Flores Addresses His Relationship with Tua

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is pushing back against the idea he had a bad relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

In the aftermath of Flores' firing came stories suggesting Flores was not supportive of Tagovailoa, complete with a report about a screaming match during halftime of the Week 17 loss against the Tennessee Titans.

But Flores, in a leaked segment of his appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast scheduled to air Monday at noon on YouTube, says there was no problem with his relationship with Tua.

“This is an interesting topic, because it wasn’t strained," Flores said. "We had a good relationship. It was a player-coach relationship. And I think in a relationship like that, the coach challenges the player. And oftentimes the player challenges the coach. And I think there was a great deal of respect between the two of us. So you hear these crazy kind of ... this narrative that’s out there. But this is a young man who works, who developed and got better over two years and, I think he’s got a bright future. I wish him all the best.

“So the world can think what it wants to think. I think ... ask Tua, you know? I’m here to say what I gotta say, and you can ask him. I think he’d say the same thing.”

“I wish him all the best” - Brian Flores to Tua

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— I AM ATHLETE (@IAMATHLETEpod) February 18, 2022

Flores has done several interviews since filing a lawsuit against the NFL plus specifically the Dolphins, Giants and Broncos alleging systemic racism in the league's hiring practices and alleging Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in the 2019 season so the team could get the highest pick possible in the 2020 NFL draft.

Flores' comments about Tua developing and having a bright future are consistent with what he said in media sessions about the quarterback throughout the 2021 season, though he never publicly embraced him the way new head coach Mike McDaniel seemed to do in a FaceTime phone call that was put on the Dolphins' social media platforms — as a way of showing the organization is fully behind Tua after the nonstop rumors of a potential trade for Deshaun Watson last year.

"We're gonna have an extensive professional relationship, my man," McDaniel is heard saying to Tua. "One thing I know about you is you have the ambition to be great. My job is to coach you to get all that greatness out. And it's gonna be fun, man, it's gonna be work but I know you're not afraid of that.

"So this is an awesome day for me. And I'm damn sure gonna make sure that when you look back on this day, you're gonna be like, 'Damn, that was one of the best days of my career too.' But I'll earn that from you, you got me?"