Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is putting up MVP numbers in Miami this season, but not everyone thinks Tagovailoa is really the reason the Dolphins’ offense goes. Coach Mike McDaniel was not happy about it when he was asked whether his own scheme, and the talent the Dolphins have around Tagovailoa has more to do with the Dolphins’ success.
Asked if many quarterbacks could do what Tagovailoa is doing in the Dolphins’ offense, McDaniel began his answer with, “I’m about to push this podium over.”
McDaniel then said that whether it’s Tagovailoa or Tyreek Hill or McDaniel himself who deserves most of the credit doesn’t matter, because they’re all working together to have a great offense.
“My answer to that would be who the F cares? Because it is a team, we’re working together, and I know one thing: I’ve coached a long time, I haven’t seen people do what our guys do,” McDaniel said. “As a teammate we’re all dependent on each other and I’m not in any hurry to prove myself without those guys because they’re part of who we are. To try to say it’s this person or that person is missing the point. It’s a team working together, people working together. Myself, Tyreek Hill, Tua, cool. What if no one’s blocking? You know what I mean? We’re all connected in that way.”
McDaniel said he has called the same plays in other offenses when he didn’t have the players to make the plays work the way they’re working in Miami this year.
“Our players run a lot of plays that I have a lot of history with, and it looks different,” McDaniel said. “That’s because of hard work and unbelievable ability. So don’t try me on other players.”