Brian Flores denies having a rift with Tua Tagovailoa: 'We had a good relationship'

In the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins’ firing of Brian Flores, one narrative was that he was not committed to Tua Tagovailoa as the team’s quarterback. Flores is now pushing back against that narrative.

In an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, Flores maintained there was never a rift between himself and Tagovailoa, but the two did challenge each other.

“This is an interesting topic, because it wasn’t strained,” Flores said. “We had a good relationship. It was a player-coach relationship. And I think in a relationship like that, the coach challenges the player, and oftentimes the player challenges the coach. And I think there was a great deal of respect between the two of us. So you hear this crazy kind of narrative that’s out there. But this is a young man who works, who developed and got better over two years, and I think he’s got a bright future. I wish him all the best.”

Reports after Flores’ firing indicated that the coach had some heated exchanges with his quarterback. Ultimately, they may not have been anything out of the ordinary or that big of a deal within the locker room. That said, Flores also never shied away from his interest in another quarterback, which also fueled these rumors.