Vikings Coach Called a “Terrible Person”
Tua Tagovialoa does not hold a high opinion of Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores — not one bit.
Vikings Coach Called a “Terrible Person”
Tagovailoa spoke with The Dan LeBatard Show this week and claimed Flores, his head coach in 2020 and 2021, was awful for his development, a vast contrast from current Dolphins skipper Mike McDaniel.
“To put it in simplest terms, 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,” Tagovailoa told the show’s hosts, implicating Flores as the culprit. “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other, you see what I’m saying?”
Miami employed Flores as its head coach from 2019 to 2021, and when Tagovailoa began to develop as a rookie, Flores often rolled with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick during the 2020 campaign. The team targeted Tom Brady, too — well, they tampered — heading into that season and later reportedly pursued Deshaun Watson via trade. It is unclear if Flores was front and center in any of those dealings. If not, the team’s general manager evidently wasn’t totally sold on Tagovailoa, either.
“And then you hear it, no matter what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to 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 don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start believing that about yourself,” Tagovailoa continued his scathing critique of Flores. “And so that’s what sort of ended up happening. It was, it’s basically been what two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of guys as well that have been here my rookie year all the way until now.”
The Dolphins and Flores controversially broke up after the 2021 season, leading Flores to join the Pittsburgh Steelers as a linebackers coach in 2022. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ 2022 defense floundered, culminating in an embarrassing home playoff loss versus the New York Giants.
Vikings skipper head coach Kevin O’Connell hired Flores about three weeks later, and the hire has netted results. Minnesota improved from 24th in defensive DVOA under 2022 coordinator Ed Donatell to 11th in 2023 under Flores. No such allegations have followed Flores inside the Vikings locker room — none at all. It’s all positives through 19 months.
Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing yards last season with Mike McDaniel in charge, tabulating 4,624 and 29 touchdown passes.
To date, the Dolphins have won zero postseason games with Tagovailoa under center. He received a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension this offseason.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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