Ryan Fitzpatrick discloses ex-Dolphins HC Brian Flores left Tua Tagovailoa ‘broken’ during his tenure

The veteran criticized Brian Flores and the Patriot Way as it destroyed Tua Tagovailoa's confidence within himself.

Ryan Fitzpatrick discloses ex-Dolphins HC Brian Flores left Tua Tagovailoa ‘broken’ during his tenure

Brian Flores and Ryan Fitzpatrick (via ESPN/Forbes)

Brian Flores was the Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021. Through this period, he won 24 games and lost 25. He was fired over off-the-field concerns more so than the team’s performance as per owner Stephen Ross.

At the time, this move was criticized by a large part of the team’s fanbase as the Dolphins were beginning to become something special, around this time, the team drafted QB Tua Tagovailoa and Flores coached him for a little over a year and one veteran who was on the team believes he nearly ruined the elite QB.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, one of the more respected veteran quarterbacks who retired from the NFL last year, joined the Thursday Night Football panel on Prime. He was addressing the QB situation of the New England Patriots, with respect to Mac Jones in particular, who has been playing like a shadow of himself in comparison to his rookie year. Fitzpatrick stated that Jones has lost all confidence and needs to get it back.

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He is definitely broken. Mentally, emotionally, he's broken. I look to a few similar examples of first round quarterbacks who have gone through the struggles. Jared Goff being one of them and then Sean McVay comes in and is able to fix him.

Here’s where it got interesting. Fitzpatrick brought up Tua Tagovailoa who was coached by Brian Flores in his rookie way.

Ryan Fitzpatrick stated the ‘Patriot Way’ almost ruined Tua Tagovailoa

Flores followed the ‘Patriot Way’ as he was groomed by Bill Belichick and this method did not suit Tua Tagovailoa. It destroyed his confidence as per the veteran QB and it nearly ruined his career. In his rookie year, Tua was subject to a lot of backlash and was dubbed a bust by fans for not living up to the hype. However, in 2023, he is in contention to win the MVP award.

Brian Flores and Tua Tagovailoa
Brian Flores and Tua Tagovailoa (via Yahoo Sports)

Ryan Fitzpatrick said, 

Tua Tagovailoa, who I was with, Brian Flores, same New England way, he was broken from Brian Flores, the way he treated him, the way he coached him...Mike McDaniel comes in, he restores his confidence and now he's an MVP candidate.

While Flores went on to file a lawsuit against the Dolphins and the NFL for firing him due to racial reasons and accused owner Stephen Ross of asking him to lose games on purpose, the team has found immense success under Mike McDaniel. Tua Tagovailoa continues to improve every year, and he has become the franchise QB of the team.

Sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenario. Despite being talented, they cannot thrive in certain situations. It does not mean they are not good enough. The same applies to Mac Jones as well. He just needs to be in a different situation.

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