Dolphins Taking Different Approach to Tua's Development

Every offseason since Mike McDaniel became the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, there has been a specific area of focus for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s offseason development. 

Year 1 was about rebuilding Tua’s confidence following the Brian Flores era. Year 2 was about improving his durability, and Year 3 was about Tua becoming a bit more mobile. 

Some of those endeavors were more successful than others, but they were the clear focal points of the quarterback’s offseason training in the past. This offseason, the Dolphins’ goal for Tua is broader.

“He’s the franchise quarterback of a team. His job is to lead men on each and every play, and find different ways to continue the process of evolution for him,” McDaniel said before an OTA on Wedneday. “That’s always been the name of the game for him, whether that’s getting the offense to the line of scrimmage faster out of the huddle or whether that’s adjusting protections, doing sight adjustments, growing his game, working on progressions, escaping the pocket and getting rid of [the ball].” 

“All of the things a quarterback is asked to do, I think that’s where he’s at. He’s dipped his toe in the water with everything, and now it’s consistency and mastery. That’s why it’s a never-ending exercise.” 

What Improvements Tua Can Make

It seems the Dolphins believe Tua has moved past the point of needing to learn specific parts of the scheme, which shouldn’t be a surprise, given this is his fourth year under McDaniel. 

Instead, the critical area for this offseason is getting Tua to master the finer points of quarterback play within the Dolphins offense. McDaniel mentioned several small details that have been a pain point for the offense in recent seasons. 

Things like getting to the line faster aren’t flashy, but they can have a tangible effect on the offense. Miami has struggled to get to the line of scrimmage quickly during the McDaniel era, leading to wasted timeouts and pre-snap penalties. 

Obviously, not all of those fall only on Tua, especially considering how much the team struggled with that while Tua was injured. Still, McDaniel and the Dolphins want to see the quarterback take more command of those minor details. 

“It’s pretty clear in season 4 that the expectations of having mastery in everything, from him and the coaching staff,” McDaniel said. “It gives you a daily opportunity to prove consistency. We already know he can do a lot of things throwing the football, but we’re working on the craft of being a quarterback on each and every play.” 

McDaniel is right. When Tua is on point and healthy, he’s one of the more productive quarterbacks in the league. He led the league in passer rating in 2023 and has thrown 73 touchdowns across the last three seasons. 

However, some of the finer points McDaniel mentioned above have held Tua back in some big games. “Going through progressions” is something Tua is capable of, but he tends to trust the offense a little too much at times. 

That blind trust led to some of his interceptions in the Dolphins’ loss against the Texans last season, especially this one: