Miami Dolphins

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores hasn't spoken directly to Tua Tagovailoa after the Dolphins quarterback made pointed remarks about his old coach.

Tagovailoa told reporters Monday he hasn't heard from Flores, who's now the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator, and that he didn't want to expand on his recent comments.

During an interview on The Dan Le Batard Show posted last week, the 2023 Pro Bowler was candid about his experience with Flores, whom he said was overly critical to the point of it being counterproductive:

Tagovailoa may not have been the only player happy to see Flores dismissed after the 2021 season.

Since the coach was largely judged to have done a good job amid a total rebuild, his remarks offered some more context behind a move that left many puzzled. Setting up the franchise quarterback to succeed is part of a head coach's job, and Flores may have been failing in that regard.

Addressing his promotion to QB1 midway through 2020 given what seemed to be Flores' negative assessment of him, Tagovailoa told reporters Monday he "won't speculate" but said he suspects the reasons behind it. His response spoke volumes without him actually saying a lot.

Flores, for his part, addressed the situation head-on last week. He told reporters he's "genuinely happy" for Tagovailoa, who turned a corner under current head coach Mike McDaniel. He added that he was stung by the interview but broadly takes criticism on board as a way to get better.

That Flores hasn't spoken personally with Tagovailoa isn't a big surprise. The regular season is right around the corner, so the coach is wrapped up with assessing the Vikings' defense and getting ready for Week 1.

Maybe the two can hash things out at some point down the line.

The Miami Dolphins have a new wide receiver in their offense this year, but he has yet to get any reps with his new team since signing.

Odell Beckham Jr. has been dealing with a knee injury all offseason, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was candid about the lack of on-field chemistry they've been able to form.

"Off the field, I've been able to hang out with him a good amount of times. Cool dude, 100 percent," Tagovailoa said. "But does our relationship translate on the field? I couldn't tell you because I haven't gotten reps with him, and that's just the honest truth. Now, if O is on the PUP list, he clears everything and we're able to get out there, that's one of the first things that I want to do. I want to make sure I get as many reps with him. He's going to go in for this rep, let's make sure this guy gets the ball."

After the Dolphins' preseason game on Friday, head coach Mike McDaniel expressed that he's not nervous about Beckham missing significant time and praised the veteran for finding ways to contribute while sidelined.

"I'm hopeful about a lot of things," McDaniel said, per the Palm Beach Post's Joe Schad. "Again, I'm not nervous about it. You hope, but you have to listen to people's bodies and be very communicative. I know he's feeling very optimistic about how things are developing, but you just take one day at a time. And like I said before, I'm not in a position of nervousness because of the way that he's been involved. He's found a way to be a leader of sorts without playing. That's tough to do, but his mindset's right, and so I feel good about that."

Last season with the Baltimore Ravens, Beckham had 565 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 35 receptions. While he's not the prolific 1,000+ yard receiver he was with the New York Giants, he's looking to revitalize his career with one of the best offenses in the NFL.

The Dolphins could choose to place Beckham on the physically unable to perform list or the non-football injury list, but doing so would mean he would have to miss the first four games of the season.

Luckily for Miami, it has a strong receiving core highlighted by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, so Beckham being out to start the season wouldn't necessarily be detrimental to the offense.

One anonymous NFL head coach hasn't been impressed with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's regular-season production and is looking for him to take the next step in the playoffs.

"I put him right in the middle of that Tier 2 stack," the head coach told Mike Sando of The Athletic. "You have basically got a guy who is a perfect fit for Mike McDaniel. He is going to throw for 4,500 yards and a gazillion touchdowns, and statistically, it's going to be hard to deny. But, kind of like with Kyle Shanahan's quarterbacks, what are you going to do when it's the [playoffs] against the Chiefs and it's a two-minute drive and play-action and all that s--t ain't going to help you?"

Tagovailoa is coming off a strong 2023 season, earning the first Pro Bowl nod of his career and leading the Dolphins to a commendable 11-6 record. He led the league with 4,624 passing yards, adding 29 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions.

Miami averaged over 401 yards per game as a team, the highest mark in the NFL. Head coach Mike McDaniel prioritized speed around Tagovailoa, allowing players such as star wideout Tyreek Hill and running back De'Von Achane to rack up yards with the ball in their hands.

The Dolphins ultimately lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round of the playoffs. Tagovailoa only completed 51.3 percent of his throws for 199 yards, recording a touchdown and an interception.

Still, Miami rewarded the signal-caller with a four-year extension worth $212.4 million on July 26.

Tagovailoa will look to help the Dolphins earn three straight playoff appearances for the first time since 2001 when the team's regular season kicks off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8.

Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill and Olympic 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles have been going back and forth in the media about potentially challenging each other to a race.

It will likely be for bragging rights only, however—Lyles said Wednesday on the Dan Patrick Show that he won't be putting his gold medal on the line in such a race.

"No. What has he earned to deserve that status?" he asked Patrick (9:20 mark). "He plays football, and he's a great football player. But you don't get to jump the line just because you think you're fast. Those tons of those people out there in the world."

When asked whether he would change his mind if Hill put his Super Bowl ring on the line, Lyles said he didn't want that piece of hardware.

"I'm very content with my Olympic medals," he added.

Such an event, should it ever happen, would certainly draw ratings. It does feel like a foregone conclusion, however, that the fastest active Olympic sprinter in the world would beat a football player in Hill who—while extremely fast—hasn't truly trained in the sport for over a decade.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill will be held out of Wednesday's practice due to a thumb injury.

Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that Hill is dealing with a thumb issue that's not considered a serious issue, but they want to err on the side of caution.

"There's also times that, because of the timing of where their bodies are at, kind of puts them at risk to get further injury," McDaniel said. "And so it's really from a medical standpoint, you're just trying to let something cool down so you don't have something happen at the expense of regular-season games. So he's been very active but we're trying to make sure we keep him out of harm's way."

The Dolphins are holding a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday ahead of their preseason matchup on Friday.

It's unclear if Hill, who has been held out of the first two preseason contests, will play on Friday night.

Hill was mostly healthy during the 2023 season, though he missed a Week 15 win over the New York Jets with an ankle injury.

The 29-year-old injured his ankle during the first quarter of a Week 14 win over the Tennessee Titans and didn't return to the game until the third quarter. He finished the game having played just 47 percent of the team's offensive snaps and caught four passes for 61 yards.

Hill finished the 2023 season having caught 119 passes for 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 games.

Hill has been one of the best offensive players in the NFL this season and was in contention to become the NFL's first receiver to record 2,000 receiving yards in a single season prior to hitting the shelf with the ankle injury.

Through Miami's first 13 games, Hill caught 97 passes for 1,542 yards and 12 touchdowns.

If the Dolphins hope to get back to the postseason and make a deep run this season, they'll need Hill to remain healthy. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle can keep the team afloat, but it's Hill who really makes the offense click.

Miami will open the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Brian Flores has responded to the critical comments from Tua Tagovailoa about their relationship when he was head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Flores said that he's "genuinely happy" for Tagovailoa's success and that he needs to use the comments to learn to grow and be better going forward.

During an appearance on Monday's episode of The Dan LeBatard Show, Tagovailoa said Flores told him "that you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do" when he was coaching the Dolphins.

This was the first time Tagovailoa acknowledged the dynamic with Flores, but there were indications that things weren't always copacetic between the two.

Michael Lombardi said on The GM Shuffle podcast (h/t Zack Cox of NESN) in January 2022 that Flores wasn't "shy" about speaking frankly to Tagovailoa.

"I don't think [Brian] Flores was shy about telling [Tagovailoa], 'Hey, I should have picked Mac Jones.' I don't think he was shy about telling him that. In fact, I know that he wasn't," Lombardi said.

"If I'd have knew you were going to be this bad, I would have picked Mac Jones," Flores told his young quarterback, per Lombardi.

Flores was Miami's head coach for three seasons from 2019 to '21. Tagovailoa was drafted by the Dolphins in 2020 with the No. 5 overall pick. He struggled in his first two seasons, throwing for 4,467 yards, 27 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 23 appearances.

Since Mike McDaniel was hired by the Dolphins in February 2022 after Flores was fired, Tagovailoa has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the NFL. He has thrown for 8,172 yards, 54 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in 30 games over the past two seasons.

Tagovailoa led the league with 4,624 passing yards in 2023. The Dolphins have made the playoffs in both seasons with McDaniel, matching their total number of postseason appearances from the previous 20 seasons combined.

The Dolphins rewarded Tagovailoa with a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension in July that keeps him with the organization through the 2028 season.

Flores went 24-25 as Miami's head coach. He worked on Mike Tomlin's staff with the Pittsburgh Steelers as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022. The 43-year-old is entering his second season as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa drew a stark contrast between how he was coached by Brian Flores and then Mike McDaniel.

"To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do, that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven't earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this. You are accurate. You are the best whatever,'" Tagovailoa said in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show. "How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?"

Tagovailoa said he began to believe the negative comments made about his game and that "it's basically been, what, two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of the guys as well."

Flores' dismissal following the 2021 season was met with some surprise. He exited with a 24-25 record over three seasons, which wasn't a bad return considering the Dolphins executed a full-scale rebuild in 2019.

In 2022, Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and three teams including Miami. He alleged he was the victim of racial discrimination and that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross had incentivized him to lose games in 2019, among other claims. The league didn't find any evidence to support Miami's purported tanking, and a judge ruled in 2023 that Flores' claims against the Dolphins specifically would have to go through arbitration.

Tagovailoa's comments are likely to bring another reassessment of Flores' tenure in South Florida.

The 2023 Pro Bowler previously alluded to Austin Jackson's similar experience under Flores, and the offensive tackle confirmed his first two years under the former coach were difficult.

The numbers speak for themselves in terms of how much Tagovailoa has improved since McDaniel's arrival. He has thrown for 8,172 yards and 54 touchdowns in 30 starts over the last two seasons.

The straightforward conclusion was that an offensive-minded head coach knew how to get the most out of the southpaw compared to Flores, a longtime defensive specialist before coaching Miami.

Based on Tagovailoa's interview, the explanation goes much deeper than that.

Tyreek Hill is ready to race Noah Lyles.

After the 100m gold medalist said he would race Hill if the Miami Dolphins receiver was "serious" about it, Hill responded by requesting Lyles "sign the contract" and then be ready to "lock in" a 50-yard race.

Lyles became the first American to win the 100m since Justin Gatlin in 2004. The victory comes with the unofficial title of "fastest man in the world," but the speedy Hill appears ready to stake a claim for that crown.

Lyles would be the heavy favorite given his performance on the track, but Hill is a compelling contender. He competed on the track in high school and was even named the High School Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News in 2012.

Lyles earned that distinction in 2015 and 2016, but Hill's excellence on the track shows that he should be a worthy opponent if he were to focus training on the sprint. Football, however, will occupy his time for the next several months.

He was named the top player in the NFL by his peers heading into the 2024 season and is coming off of a season in which he posted a career-high and league-leading 1,799 receiving yards.

Olympic 100-meter dash champion Noah Lyles snubbed Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill on Friday after Hill recently said he would beat Lyles in a race.

In an interview with NBC Sports (h/t FinsXtra), Lyles acted like he didn't know who Hill was when he was mentioned, saying: "What's the cheetah guy from football? I can't remember his name. ... What's the football player who thinks he's fast name? Tyreek Hill."

Lyles seemed to be reacting to Hill saying in a recent interview on Up & Adams that he would "beat Noah Lyles" in a race:

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris this month, Lyles cemented his status as the fastest man in the world, winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 9.79 seconds.

Last year at the track and field world championships, Lyles may have made enemies of many team sport stars who play in the major North American sports leagues.

Per Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times, Lyles used the NBA as an example and suggested the NBA champions should not be referred to as "world champions" since they don't actually compete against teams from across the world:

"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have 'world champion' on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don't get me wrong. I love the U.S.—at times—but that ain't the world. That is not the world. We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show that they are represented. There ain't no flags in the NBA. We gotta do more. We gotta be presented to the world."

When Adams brought Lyles' comments up to Hill, he said, "Noah Lyles can't nothing after what just happened to him. To come out and pretend like he's sick, I feel that's like horseradish."

Hill was alluding to the fact that Lyles revealed after participating in the 200-meter event at the Olympics that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Lyles was the favorite to win the 200m after winning the 100m, but he largely struggled and had to settle for bronze behind Botswana's Letsile Tebogo and American Kenny Bednarek.

He appeared to be exhausted after the race and had to be transported off the track in a wheelchair. A short time later, Lyles said on the NBC telecast that he was COVID-19 positive, and USA Track & Field later confirmed the diagnosis.

Despite perhaps not being at his best in Paris, Lyles still left the Olympics with two medals and became the first American to win the 100m at the Olympics since Justin Gatlin in 2004.

Hill has blazing speed in his own right and may very well be the fastest player in the NFL, but it would be considered a major upset if he were to even come close to beating an Olympic track star like Lyles in a race.