Dolphins' Mike McDaniel not surprised with how Tua Tagovailoa is handling success

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel remains a massive fan of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

"Anything that’s happening with him isn’t a surprise to me," McDaniel said of Tagovailoa during a Wednesday press conference, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "It would’ve been a surprise if it hadn’t, just because the day-in, day-out work that I’m witnessing and the work that his teammates do and how his rapport is with them and all of that. But it doesn’t surprise me how he’s handled success because literally it has no distinction from when we first started working, before game one and training camp and OTAs. And that’s awesome. That’s what I would’ve guessed."

McDaniel previously served as offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers and accepted the Dolphins gig at a time when Miami was being linked in rumors with 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, then-Houston Texans star Deshaun Watson, and even the temporarily-retired Tom Brady. However, McDaniel insisted as far back as February he was "all in" on working with Tagovailoa. 

According to ESPN stats, Tagovailoa leads all eligible quarterbacks on the season with a 115.9 passer rating and an 80.2 total QBR. He's third with a 69.9% completion percentage and has thrown for 15 touchdowns in seven games. The 24-year-old missed two starts due to injury. 

"[H]e knows exactly who he is," McDaniel added about Tagovailoa. "He knows exactly what he needs to do to do his portion of his job well. And he’s not deviating from that at all. Very cool and good to see, but not surprising in the least." 

Tagovailoa and the 6-3 Dolphins host the 3-5 Cleveland Browns this Sunday before Miami's bye week.