Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores confirmed on Wednesday that Tua Tagovailoa is taking over as the team’s starting quarterback, but Flores is not pleased about the way that information got out.
With the Dolphins having a bye this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that they will hand over the starting QB job to Tagovailoa in Week 8. Apparently that report came out before Flores had a chance to inform his players of the decision. The coach said he plans to apologize to the team that it somehow leaked.
Brian Flores says he’s not happy that he didn’t get to address the team about the decision to start Tua Tagovailoa before the news came out. He says he will talk to the team and apologize about that. He noted that’s not how he wanted the team to find out.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 21, 2020
If Flores hadn’t even told his players about switching from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tagovailoa, it would stand to reason that not many people knew. Someone within the organization must have leaked the information to Schefter, which would obviously be enough to irritate the head coach.
In any event, Flores praised Tagovailoa for the strides he has made in practice that led to the switch. Flores also couldn’t say enough positive things about Fitzpatrick.
"Fitz has been great. He's been great for the last year and a half. I don't know if anyone has been more instrumental…" in helping to create a culture. "He's been a tremendous asset for this team." – Brian Flores on Ryan Fitzpatrick #Dolphins @nflnetwork @AroundTheNFL
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 21, 2020
The Dolphins may have been planning all along to make Tagovailoa the starter following their bye week. While he only played for a brief time in Sunday’s blowout win over the New York Jets, the former Alabama star showed how much the moment meant to him with his actions after the game.
Fitzpatrick has been a steadying presence for Miami dating back to last season. He has the team 3-3 this year and squarely in the playoff hunt, which is why the switch to Tagovailoa is surprising to some. The Dolphins likely feel Tagovailoa offers a higher ceiling.
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