“Worried About My Guy” – Dolphins Coach Mike McDaniel Gets Emotional Over Tua Tagovailoa’s Latest Concussion

Matt Fitzgerald·
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Mike McDaniel Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins

Tough night for any football fan with a soul, unlike some people who are making jokes about the fact that Damar Hamlin tackled Tua Tagovailoa, triggering the latter’s latest of multiple concussions during Thursday night’s AFC East duel between the Dolphins and Bills in Miami.

Tomorrow’s talking points everywhere would’ve led with Buffalo still being the team to beat in the division, and Josh Allen improving to 12-2 as a starter in his career against the Fins after a 31-10 rout. While those points still stand, and any notion of the Bills regressing has been put to bed, all of those narratives are overshadowed by the dark reality that Tua might’ve played his last snap as Miami’s franchise quarterback.

As we saw in the aftermath of Tyreek Hill getting arrested prior to the Fins’ season opener on Sunday, Mike McDaniel deeply cares about his players on a personal level and isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve to show it. The man doesn’t seem to change for anyone, and for whatever persistent perception there is about Miami’s inability to beat the NFL’s best of the best, I’m 99.999% sure they have the right head coach in place to someday get over that hump.

Sadly, I don’t know if Tua will be captaining the offense when that day comes. I don’t think McDaniel knows either, which might be part of why Thursday’s postgame presser was so difficult, although he did say Tua was in good spirits based on their interactions in the locker room.

There’s no question Tua and McDaniel are tight. Their relationship is night and day compared to what Tua dealt with under Brian Flores. You could see that drastic difference in action when Tua thankfully walked off the field under his own power — and later in the fourth quarter when McDaniel was fighting back tears:

As for who could possibly replace Tua — seems almost trivial to discuss — McDaniel has put a lot of faith in former seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson as the QB2. So much so that he cut a proven veteran backup/spot starter in Mike White, who’s now on the Bills. If the Dolphins struggled to beat great teams with Tua, they’ll have virtually no chance with Thompson under center.

Tua is so uniquely skilled at throwing with incredible anticipation, and setting up Miami’s myriad speedsters for maximum yards after the catch. McDaniel tailored the offense to Tua’s strengths and can do so for other QBs on the roster, but it won’t be the same. The faint hope is that Tua can somehow stay healthy enough to keep playing. However, as I wrote earlier tonight, his career really is in jeopardy.I understand why McDaniel didn’t want to comment on that in the moment.

Nevertheless, Dolphins must consider a non-Skylar Thompson contingency plan at this point. Whether it’s basically punting on this season and hoping for a high draft pick, or getting aggressive for an upgrade in the trade market now, something’s gotta give. It’s looking bleak at the minute and for the long haul.

What a freaking roller coaster to start the season for Miami — or should I say waking nightmare? Your best player gets arrested hours before the first kickoff. Now your star QB is perhaps on the doorstep of retirement. The human toll and ripple effect one hit, one player, one injury can have on so many was proven yet again this evening. All the best to Tua. Prayers up for him.

Let’s end on a good note with Josh Allen’s kind words for his Thursday Night Football counterpart.

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