Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

New Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel 'all in' on QB Tua Tagovailoa?

A story emerged last Friday that mentioned the Miami Dolphins as a potential landing spot for current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who will likely be traded early into the new NFL year that opens next month so that 2021 rookie Trey Lance can become the new Niners starter. 

49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was a candidate to become the next Miami head coach at that time and then officially received the job over the weekend. On Tuesday, the Dolphins shared a video of a quick phone conversation between McDaniel and Miami signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa, during which the coach seemed to commit to keeping the first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft atop his depth chart.

"We’re going to have an extensive professional relationship, my man," McDaniel told Tagovailoa, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "One thing I know about you is you have the ambition to be great. My job is to coach you, to get all that greatness out of you. And it’s going to be fun, man. It’s going to be work, but I know you’re not afraid of that. So this is an awesome day for me and I’m damn sure going to make sure that when you look back on this day, you’re going to be like, ‘Damn, that was one of the best days of my career,’ too. OK? But I’ll earn that from you. You got me?" 

McDaniel added: 

"I'm elated, bro. It is an unbelievable opportunity for me that I do not plan on wasting in the slightest. I can promise you that. I’m all in. You’re going to get the best out of me that you can possibly get." 

According to ESPN stats, Tagovailoa finished the 2021 regular season 19th among eligible quarterbacks with a 90.1 passer rating and 18th with a 49.6 total QBR across 13 games. To compare, Garoppolo was ninth with a 98.7 passer rating and 13th with a 53.4 total QBR compiled over 15 contests. 

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