NFL

Flores has done 'a lot of reflecting' following Tagovailoa criticisim

By Sports Desk August 21, 2024

Brian Flores says he has grown as a coach and wished Tua Tagovailoa well one day after the Miami Dolphins quarterback called out his coaching style. 

Flores, who is now the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, expressed his regret about how he handled their relationship when he was the head coach of the Dolphins. 

In an interview with The Dan LeBatard Show on Monday, Tagovailoa described Flores as a "terrible person" during the time they spent together between 2019 and 2022. 

Tagovailoa posted career-best figures for passes attempted (560), completed (388), passing yards (4,624) and touchdown passes (29) in 2023 and was handed a franchise-record four-year, $212.4million extension off the back of an impressive fourth season with the team.

On Tuesday, Flores addressed the situation during a session with reporters, saying: "I'm genuinely, genuinely happy for the success that Tua has had and I really wish him nothing but the best. 

Flores said he's done a lot of reflecting since hearing the comments and admitted he had some faults in Miami, although he did not say anything said by Tagovailoa was untrue.

"I think part of coaching is correcting," Flores said. "I'm always going to correct. I'm always going to have a high standard.

"And I think, look, I've done a lot of reflecting on the situation, reflecting on the situation and communication."

"I think there's things that I could do better for sure, and I've grown in that way, and I've tried to apply the things that I could do better and the things that I've learned over the last two, three years.

"But I would say over the long haul, I've had a lot of great relationships over my 21-year career here in the league. Players, coaches, personnel, equipment, people in the kitchen.

"I mean really across the board, I've had a lot of great relationships. I'm going to continue to do that, but I'm also always looking to get better and involved."

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