The Minnesota Vikings' Brian Flores expresses a desire to develop further following his criticism of Tua Tagovailoa.
The Miami Dolphins' previous quarterback made some statements during a recent interview that was broadcasted on Monday, as he discussed the distinction between Flores' coaching style and his current head coach, Mike McDaniel.
"Listen, I'm just being real here. That hit me in a way that wasn't all positive for me," Flores told reporters on Tuesday.
"But at the same time, I gotta take that and use it as an opportunity to grow and improve. How can I leverage this situation to become a better person? Am I that person they were talking about? No. But how can I improve and ensure that no one talks about me in that way again?"
Flores is now in his second season serving as the Vikings' defensive coordinator, having led the Dolphins during the time when Tua Tagovailoa was drafted fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Tagovailoa and Flores worked together for two seasons, with Tagovailoa participating in 23 games, passing for 4,467 yards, scoring 27 touchdowns, and intercepting the ball 15 times. Unfortunately, the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs in both seasons.
"If you're being constantly criticized by a rotten individual, you'll eventually start to internalize that negativity," Tagovailoa mentioned on the "Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" when discussing Flores.
Flores shows genuine happiness for Tagovailoa's success
Flores was let go by the team in January 2022 after spending three seasons there and was subsequently replaced by McDaniel. Since then, Tagovailoa has seen significant improvement.
During the 2021 season, Tagovailoa played in all 17 games for the first time in his career, leading the league with 4,264 passing yards, completing 69.3% of his passes, throwing for 29 touchdowns, and intercepting the ball 14 times. The Dolphins have now made it to the playoffs in the two seasons under McDaniel's leadership.
Tagovailoa recently signed a contract extension worth $212.4 million for four years.
"I'm genuinely rooting for Tua's triumphs and I just wish him all the best," Flores concluded.
" Player-coach relationships are crucial to me. Coaching is all about making a positive impact on young players – that was the reason I got into coaching in the first place. My coaches had a significant impact on me as a youngster, and I wanted to pay it forward and influence young people to become the best versions of themselves."
Flores' time with the Dolphins, primarily with Tua Tagovailoa, was marked by challenging situations, as they failed to make the playoffs in both of their seasons together. Despite this, Flores expresses genuine happiness for Tagovailoa's current success under McDaniel, acknowledging the importance of positive player-coach relationships in his coaching philosophy, as he aims to influence young players to become their best selves.
In the realm of sports, Flores utilizes criticism as an opportunity to grow and improve, as constantly being criticized by a negative individual could potentially lead to internalizing that negativity. Given his history with the Dolphins and Tua, Flores seeks to leverage his experiences to better himself in his current role as the Vikings' defensive coordinator.
