Mike McDaniel won’t ‘tinker with’ Tua Tagovailoa relationship by talking money
Tua Tagovailoa is in pursuit of a new contract this offseason and talks with the Miami Dolphins are ongoing. Those negotiations haven’t included head coach Mike McDaniel, though.
Earlier this week, McDaniel said he’s been careful to keep his voice out of the mix entirely.
“I think it’s important that the player-coach relationship is put on a pedestal where you don’t tinker with that,” McDaniel said Tuesday. “My job is to get him better. His job is to communicate with me how I’m doing in that process. I think we’re in a safe zone where when he’s talking to me about my expertise and not about stuff that is not my expertise, so we try to stay true to that and that’s paid us dividends this offseason.”
Tagovailoa’s attendance at the optional portion of the Dolphins’ offseason program has been the subject of conversation in recent weeks. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported that Tagovailoa “has skipped the majority of voluntary offseason work” in his pursuit of a new contract, yet when the Dolphins hit the field for their first OTA practice earlier this week, the quarterback was in attendance.
He then missed the Tuesday session to participate in a charity golf event hosted by Nick Saban.
“He has been here for offseason activities; he has not been here for offseason activities. He has been both,” McDaniel said. “I think important in the player-coach relationship is communication and I think however things play out, as long as we’re communicating and we’re on our Ps and Qs on what we need to get accomplished, then we have a fighting chance and it’s been a good exercise in our relationship this offseason.”
For now, Tagovailoa is set to play the 2024 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. That looks highly unlikely, though.
