New Dolphins OC Frank Smith 'super excited' to work with QB Tua Tagovailoa

Even before the Miami Dolphins officially hired former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as head coach earlier this month, some linked Miami with veteran 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo as a potential replacement for 2020 first-round draft pick Tua Tagovailoa. However, McDaniel appeared to pour cold water over those rumors when he publicly told Tagovailoa he was "all in" regarding their working relationship. 

As Myles Simmons noted for Pro Football Talk, McDaniel has since added ex-Los Angeles Chargers run game coordinator/offensive line coach Frank Smith to his staff as the new Miami offensive coordinator, and he also brought Darrell Bevell to town to serve as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. 

Smith spoke about the club's quarterback situation on Wednesday and, like his boss, backed Tagovailoa.

"But as I’ve been here, and you’re studying him as a player, super excited. Extremely accurate passer," Smith said of Tagovailoa, according to Alain Poupart of All Dolphins. "His patience with things and what we’re going to be able to do is going to be really, really cool.

"I know just in the limited stuff from this week, just super excited the more tape we get to watch. With the hiring process, you get in here, and you’re trying to get a staff together, you’re trying to figure out, combine, all this. And now as we’re getting into it every week, more and more tape, we get more and more excited. … You’re going, 'This is going to be really, really cool to have him at quarterback for us.'"

The Dolphins were repeatedly mentioned as a possible home for Houston Texans star signal-caller Deshaun Watson throughout 2021, and there's speculation Miami could be among the clubs allegedly willing to trade for Watson if his criminal situation is resolved before the 2022 NFL Draft opens on April 28. It seems, though, that McDaniel and Smith are confident they can get the best out of Tagovailoa beginning later this year.