Tua Tagovailoa’s negative view of Brian Flores: While defensive assistant coach Brian Flores seemingly earned the respect of New England players during his tenure with the team, one of his players from his time as head coach of the Miami Dolphins has a very different view.

Tua Tagovailoa, who the Dolphins selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft (heading into Flores’s second season with Miami), recently opened up about the negative coaching style he says his ex-coach employed.

Asked to explain the difference between the management styles of Flores and current Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa was blunt during a recent interview. He said, “Well, to put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you, ‘You suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven’t earned this,’” Tagovailoa said of the approach Flores took with him. “And then you have somebody else come in [McDaniel] and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for this, like you are accurate, you are the best whatever. You are this, you are that.’ Like how would it make you feel listening to one or the other?”

Tagovailoa, 26, has achieved significantly better statistical seasons under McDaniel than with Flores, recently agreeing to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension. In his mind, the night and day contrast between his coaches is linked by a common thread: Repeated messaging (albeit in very different forms). All I can say is, somebody’s doing something right! Go, Dolphins!