Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel: Tua Tagovailoa has 'skills that I think are untapped'

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier made headlines Wednesday when he said "the door is shut" on potentially trading for Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson, a comment that seemingly put such speculation to bed for good. 

The news wasn't all that surprising to those who have listened to members of Miami's coaching staff, and not just because Watson is still facing 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints that have his playing future in question. In a video the Dolphins shared via social media last month, new head coach Mike McDaniel told signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa he was "all in" on the two working together, and new offensive coordinator Frank Smith later said he was "super excited" to begin coaching the 2020 first-round draft pick. 

McDaniel appeared on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" on Thursday and once again strongly indicated his QB1 is already atop his depth chart. 

"I'm really excited moving forward because the guy has some skills that I think are untapped," McDaniel said of Tagovailoa, according to Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "I think it's important that you empower the quarterback with the rest of the players around him and the scheme you bring forth. So, I think his best days are in front of him. And that's a really cool piece of the process to be part of as a coach."

Per ESPN stats, Tagovailoa finished the 2021 regular season 19th among eligible quarterbacks with a 90.1 passer rating and 18th with a 49.7 total QBR. He threw for 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 13 games. 

"As a coach, you're sitting there looking at each individual player and regardless of what's happened before or what's going to happen after, as a competitor, you're saying 'I want your best year attached to a year that I'm coaching you,'" McDaniel continued. "So that's something that I think is a driving force really when you are able to get a player maybe a couple years into the league but his first year in the system. That's something that our coaching staff is prepared to do and accepts that challenge and understands what it is, and can take complete ownership of it."

Publicly, McDaniel and Smith sound prepared to offer Tagovailoa a fresh start. If, however, the 24-year-old doesn't look like a franchise quarterback by this time next year, the Dolphins may find themselves searching for an upgrade at the sport's most important position.