After the Miami Dolphins 28-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike McDaniel made a quarterback change, deciding to bench Tua Tagovailoa in favor of rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers. The change officially ended the McDaniel–Tagovailoa partnership that had led Miami since the 2022 season.
As to why that happened, McDaniel said after the Steelers game “The QB play was not good enough.” Prior to Miami’s regular season finale, McDaniel was once again asked about the change in quarterbacks he made. He said, “When it became clear that there was another player who gave us a chance that is when we made the decision.”
Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa
Head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have been linked together since 2022. The primary reason the Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel as the team’s head coach was to “fix” Tua Tagovailoa after Tua’s relationship with Brian Flores had gone awry. Since then, the pair have been tied at the hip until Tua’s benching.
From 2022 to 2024, Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins had a 25-16 record when Tagovailoa was available as the team’s starting quarterback. When Tagovailoa was out of the lineup, the Dolphins had a 3-6 record. After Tagovailoa’s concussion last season, McDaniel told the quarterback he was “the starting quarterback of his family.”
In 2025, the relationship went sideways between the coach and the player. Tagovailoa went 6-8 as the team’s starter this year and posted his worst yards per game, passer rating, QBR, and yards per attempt in the time he had spent with Mike McDaniel. This came after the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to an extension prior to the 2024 season. As mentioned previously, the pair had been tied at the hip, which meant that once Tagovailoa signed his extension, McDaniel’s extension soon followed. Now, with both men’s future up in the air, the relationship appears to be over for good.
McDaniel was asked about Tua’s decline this year, to which he said, “There are compounding variables that led to Tua Tagovailoa’s decrease in accuracy. He says if he had the answer he would have employed it.”
Dolphins’ Regular Season Finale
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins will finish the year against the New England Patriots. Head coach Mike McDaniel will try to make one final impression as the team will decide on his future after the year. With his job potentially on the line, McDaniel opted to go with rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers to lead the way for Miami.
In the Dolphins last game, Ewers went 14-for-22 with 172 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in the win. McDaniel was asked if he believes Ewers can be the quarterback that leads the Dolphins into the future, to which he said, “He has the ability to lead this team with coordinated cohesive play from his teammates, he can lead his team to victory against the opponent in front of us. If his game continues to grow, that’s two for two. Everybody will have 33 percent more information.”
It will mark the first career start for Ewers against an AFC East opponent. Tagovailoa went 16-10 against the AFC East in 26 games started.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel Shares True Feelings on Tua Tagovailoa appeared first on Heavy Sports.