Report: Brian Daboll wanted to turn to Tua Tagovailoa earlier in season
Now-former Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll reportedly wanted to make National Championship Game hero Tua Tagovailoa the Crimson Tide’s primary quarterback long before the second half of the title game.
According to TideSports.com, Daboll had “some frustration” regarding personnel. And that frustration had, at least in part, to do with Tagovailoa.
These weren’t all that contentious, but they were frustrating for an offensive coordinator being asked to put his best offense on the field. Daboll wanted to play freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sooner than he has given the green light to do so. That doesn’t mean that Daboll didn’t like or want to play Jalen Hurts too. That’s not accurate at all. It’s just that Daboll saw what Tagovailoa was doing in practice against the best defense in the country and wanted to give him a chance once the offense started slumping in November.
Daboll was announced as the new offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. It’s not clear just how much of that frustration played into Daboll’s desire to return to the NFL. He came to Alabama from an assistant coach role with the New England Patriots.
The second half of Alabama’s win over Georgia for the national title was far from Tagovailoa’s first action in 2017, though it was his first meaningful playing time of the season. He attempted a pass in seven of Alabama’s first 13 games, though the closest game he tossed a pass in was Alabama’s 41-23 win over Colorado State in September.
In the team’s blowout of Mercer the week before the Auburn game, Tagovailoa was 7-11 passing for 85 yards and three touchdowns. Former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin — who helped recruit Tagovailoa to Alabama — said the day after the title game there was “no doubt” Tagovailoa would have transferred from Alabama if he didn’t play in the game.
Hurts will be a junior next season and Tagovailoa will be a sophomore. How Alabama manages that potential quarterback situation going forward will be Daboll’s successor’s primary responsibility. We’ll find out in the coming weeks just who that coordinator will be.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
