Mike McDaniel – September 30, 2022
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Friday, September 30, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(How is QB Tua Tagovailoa feeling based on your discussions with him last night and today? And do you have the MRI results yet?) – “So he was – I think his teammates or me, I’m not sure who was most excited to see him on the plane. He was honest about the fact that he had a headache. But his personality was definitely normal Tua. Talking to him this morning, I think he was still feeling some of those headaches. He’s probably just finishing his MRI right now. We’ll find the results on that. That was just an extra kind of precaution on top of the CT scans and X-rays that were taken last night.”
(Obviously there’s TE Cethan Carter. Concussions affect everybody differently. Is there a chance you guys may put QB Tua Tagovailoa on short-term IR just as a precaution?) – “I mean honestly, to be completely forthright, I’m not even thinking about timetables or anything regarding him as a player right now. It’s all about Tua the person. What gets lost in all this is there’s human relationships. These aren’t just create-a-players. These are people that we mutually invest in and somebody I’ve grown very, very close to. So when it comes to head injuries and concussions, with things that severe, the only thing I’m worried about is the person first. We’re just worried about him getting healthy and getting all the testing done that he needs to get done, and us working with him so that we can feel good about where that injury is at. Then we’ll cross the bridge in terms of timetables and however long. I really haven’t even thought about that at this point.”
(Last night, when you were asked if you would do anything differently, you said, ‘No chance,’ pretty much. Now that you’ve had time to reflect, is there anything either you would have done differently or you wish any of the medical personnel would have done differently dating back to the original hit on Sunday against the Bills?) – “I appreciate all the concern, really just because I care about the guy and I appreciate all of the concern for the individual. What I was kind of referring to in terms of not changing anything that I’d do was because the whole process for what happened on the Bills game was he was evaluated for a head injury immediately. That’s what we brought him into the tent for or brought him inside for. He was evaluated and then cleared by several layers of medical professionals, who – I don’t pretend to be one – but those people, the collection of them, cleared him of any head injury whatsoever. He had a back and ankle issue. So in terms of deciding whether or not to play a guy on a Thursday night game, I was concerned about his lower back and his ankle, and putting him in harm’s way. I have 100 percent conviction in our process regarding our players. This is a player-friendly organization that I make it very clear from the onset that my job as a coach is here for the players. I take that very serious and no one else in the building strays from that. So when I am talking about deciding whether or not to play, the only thing that would keep me from playing him would be something going against medical advice that would be just completely abstract on top of all that. I had no worries whatsoever. I’m in steady communication with this guy day-in and day-out. We’re talking about high-level football conversations about progressions and defenses and recalling stuff from two weeks previous and then him having to reiterate a 15-word play call. All things, absolutely no signs. There was no medical indication, from all resources, that there was anything regarding the head. If there would have been, of course. If there would have been anything lingering with his head, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I prematurely put someone out there and put them in harm’s way. This is a relationship that I have with this human being. I take that serious. I wouldn’t have put him out there if there was any inclination given to me whatsoever that he was endangering himself from that previous game.”
(Have you talked – last night on the plane, you had conversations with QB Tua Tagovailoa I presume? You said he brought his personality with him. Can you elaborate for us? Did he talk about the incident itself?) – “We just wanted to get him a little more space. He came up and sat next to me on the flight. We talked a little about the game. I kind of was asking him questions about how he was feeling and that happened for about 15 or 20 minutes, and then he pulled out his phone and started playing my cult favorite classic movie MacGruber that he watched and was laughing with me. I think he was just happy to be with him teammates. All of his teammates were so elated. I mean this was a scary, scary situation for all of us. I’m sure you could tell by his teammates’ body language and everyone that was on the field. It was something that did not just go away once the game restarted. All of his teammates were absolutely elated to see him on the plane. He was elated. It brought him some joy, which was good to see. It’s one of the reasons you get into team sports.”
(On the last 12 hours for him as the head coach) – “It’s one of those things that you recognize as part of my job. For me, I don’t do anything without being extremely accountable and hard on myself. I can say with conviction certain things because I go back and I make sure that the due diligence, that I’ve done everything correctly with all the information given. Football is a unique sport. It’s one of the reasons that we love it is there is so much unpredictability, so many variables. It’s also one that is violent and can have injuries. You really comb all things that come across your plate to make sure that you are doing right by everyone involved, specifically and most importantly and non-negotiably, the human beings, the players. It’s to the point that I’m thinking about the play call. I’m thinking about all of this stuff. It’s hard but I recognize it’s an important part of the job that you don’t get to dictate circumstances. You’re supposed to help lead individuals to be a team. You never want to – I don’t think I’ll ever be comfortable, I’ll ever get used to, it will never feel normal for me personally and the type of person I am – I know you guys are just starting to learn. But I will never be comfortable with a player getting carted off the field. Ever. It’s something you never want to be a part of and when I put myself there, this is what happens. It’s not fun. I’m just really, really, really glad that I can hear normal Tua in his voice. I know his teammates who talked to him feel the same way.”
(Is there a change in the extent of his back injury? Has that been looked at?) – “That’s also part of the deal with him. Yeah, it is. That and his ankle are still lingering, so those are pieces of concern for player. But again, right now it’s more about person. We’re 100 percent devoted to worrying about this concussion and having him pass through it in a healthy manner and then obviously the medical staff will be attending to those other injuries that are in the back of my mind right now.”
(You spoke about QB Tua Tagovailoa hitting his head, but he did not have any lingering effects throughout the week, reiterating play calls and things like that, but still he hit his head during that game against the Bills. Was there enough consideration maybe taken by whether it was the organization, doctors, both team or independent, that QB Tua Tagovailoa could possibly hit his head again? Do you think there was enough of a measurement there?) – “Again, I totally understand the concern and appreciate the concern. When I tell you that beyond an eyeball test, which I know for a fact you guys would not be very comfortable if I was just relying on that, and not – I mean, it’s the reason why we have tests. He did not have a head injury. So, guys hit their heads all the time, and that’s why I was adamant (that) he was evaluated for having a head injury and he did not have one. And when I tell you he was in complete mental concert, talking to us through it, and then he played the whole game and then he did a press conference and then he did media all week. As far as – if I were to sit someone for a medical issue going against medical people abstractly, then when do I play him again? I don’t – this was not, the timing of all of it, how things played out, I get the optics. I get exactly what it looks like. I understand all this and I understand people’s concern. But the one thing that I’m that I can exude with 100 percent conviction is that every person in this building had 100 percent the correct process and diligence. That’s why there’s not a player or person that you’d be able to talk to in the building that would think otherwise, because it is clear, contrite and not something that is negotiable, in any way, shape or form.”
(Did you relay that to QB Tua Tagovailoa as well, since he’s a competitor? Have you told him until everything is clear, don’t even think about it?) – “Yes, I talked to him today and I reiterated the same thing, because he was bringing up to me, ‘Man, I just hope I don’t miss X, Y or Z game.’ I was like, ‘Tua, let’s stop this right now. Don’t even think about a game. Let’s just think about doing everything the right way to listen, to get opinions that you need. Let’s worry about you and your head and being a healthy human being through it and then we’ll worry about playing football later. But I don’t want to have that conversation right now.’ I didn’t really give him that option, because it was – again, that was very easy for me to do because the shape that he was in doesn’t stray from you far, again, from the human element. I think you do have to do that to protect people against themselves, in some way, shape or form.”
(I know you talked about the timing of it, but another question. Is there a possibility with respect to long term that QB Tua Tagovailoa won’t play the rest of the year? Is that anything that you all have even thought to?) – “Again, I can’t be – the most honest and forthright I could be is I literally have no timetable or even thought to it. That’s where I would feel irresponsible is even thinking about it. I just want him, I just want to see – I want him to get all the evaluations possible. I want him to do all the things recommended from all of the medical counterparts. And I want him to get on the road to recovery from that as a human being and then we’ll cross that bridge. But in terms of a timeline of crossing that bridge, I have zero idea.”
(Based on what you’ve experienced these past five days, is there anything that you would suggest to the league in terms of any changes to improve the protocols for concussions?) – “Honestly, from my medical understanding, with two unrelated events, from all the information that I’ve been given – two unrelated medical events – I don’t see a problem with the protocol if there’s not scientific backing to illustrate that he was suffering from a head injury. So from my vantage point, it’s pretty, pretty thorough when you’re talking about not only having designated people from your own organization who specialize in the field, but then you have independent neurologists, advising as well, I cannot express it enough – this was not a case of, ‘Hey, he has these effects, but…’ He had absolutely no head injury symptoms whatsoever once he was evaluated. I wouldn’t be able to from this specific situation draw anything from the protocols for good or bad, except that they are very thorough and thorough on the level of anything that has been in the National Football League since I’ve been in.”
(So the protocol, is QB Tua Tagovailoa not involved in any practices leading up to the Jets game?) – “Right. You’re in the protocol until you’re out of the protocol.”
(Is QB Tua Tagovailoa here at all? Or does he stay home? How does that work?) – “It all depends on where they’re at in their significant symptoms – whether you’re sensitive to light and there’s a bunch of different stuff. I know he’ll be back here in the building this afternoon for a second. But as far as moving forward, we’re just going to do what’s best for him. And if we have any indication that traveling in a car or coming around here isn’t the best thing for him, then we won’t do it.”
(I presume the answer is yes but QB Teddy Bridgewater would start if QB Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t play?) – “Yeah, Teddy would start and guys have a lot of confidence in him and guys have confidence in our whole quarterback room, really. It’s one of the strengths of our football team and I think guys rely on that. Tua, Teddy and Skylar (Thompson) have performed in a great working group and our guys believe in all three of them.”
(How has QB Skylar Thompson come along the last month, just observing, scout team work, etc.?) – “Skylar has been what you guys know Skylar to be. He’s just working constantly and when he’s on the field, he’ll make some plays. He’s in a great spot, too. I feel very fortunate to have those two guys.”
(What’s CB Xavien Howard’s status coming off that injury and do you know if you are going to activate CB Byron Jones next week?) – “These are things that we’ll probably revisit at the beginning of the week to see how the weekend unfolds. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is a competitor and a fierce one at that. I know he’s going to do everything to make sure that he’s completely capable. I know Byron is working his tail off, so we’ll probably re-evaluate that at the beginning of the week, which we’ll always do. I don’t really have anything for that today.”
(I’d guess you probably didn’t imagine yourself in this kind of situation – maybe a football issue but not a health issue like it is here – starting your career. How has this kind of been for you to handle?) – “Anybody can – I think it’s stuff like this that people rely on head coaches for, so I don’t really know what shape or fashion it’s going to come in. But I don’t expect to just win games and have you guys high-five me all the time. I think this is something that you never know what the job is going to entail. It’s a very demanding job and all-encompassing, but it’s also extremely rewarding for that reason. It does surprise me. But I would also say that I’m expecting to be surprised on a daily basis. It’s part of the deal and it’s unfortunate anytime that you have anything health-related on a football team. I don’t really see – I don’t know. It’s not really about me regarding the health and safety of our players. It’s more about the players and that’s the unfortunate part.”
Duke Riley – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
LB Duke Riley (transcribed by Cincinnati Bengals)
(How would you address where the team is after four games?) – “It’s how we’re working, the things we’ve been through as a team, overcoming a lot of tough situations. We’ve got a long weekend to get our bodies back together, get back to the drawing board and come back out next week and play hard and do what we do. There’s a lot of things that we want to watch and get better. It’s the NFL and it’s never going to be perfect. We’re just going to move on and move forward.”
(It’s the first loss of the season after a 3-0 start. Thoughts on that?) – “It wasn’t a win like we wanted, to go into the weekend 4-0 like we wanted, but there’s a lot of ball left. We just want to continue to improve and play for each other.”
Tyreek Hill – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
WR Tyreek Hill (transcribed by Cincinnati Bengals)
(As a leader on this team, how are you going to keep it together?) – “It’s really going to be easy. I know a lot of people are going to look at this team and say this is a young team, but my main message to the offense and my main message to this whole team is — and we’ve got a few veterans on this team who have had experiences like this — is let’s continue to keep doing what we’ve been doing. A lot of people were waiting on the Miami Dolphins to lose a game, so we need to continue doing what we’ve been doing and having fun with the game we love.”
Jaylen Waddle – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
WR Jaylen Waddle (transcribed by Cincinnati Bengals)
(Did you get a chance to say something to Tua Tagovailoa while he was down on the field?) – “I wasn’t able to. A lot of doctors were checking up on him so I wasn’t able to.”
(How were you guys able to switch the emotions and still try to finish the game after seeing what happened?) – “Obviously it’s on your mind, going out there playing. You want to go out there and compete for him going down the way he did.”
(How tough was it to see something like that happen?) – “It’s tough. Injuries are sadly part of the game. To see your captain go down, it’s definitely tough. But we went out there and tried to compete for him.”
Connor Williams – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
OL Connor Williams (transcribed by Cincinnati Bengals)
(What were your emotions when seeing what happened with Tua Tagovailoa?) – “He’s our heart. There’s a lot of emotions inside just going through it and rallying together and playing for him at the end of the day, so we did what we could.”
(What’s the impact when something like that happens?) – “Definitely with a guy like Tua, your heart’s with him. It’s just devastated. Like I said, it’s our jobs to rally and rally for him, so at the end of the day we just didn’t execute enough.”
(The good news is he’s going to be able to fly back with you guys …) – “Yeah, that will be very nice to see him and make sure he’s OK.”
(You’re 3-1 after four games, so still off to a good start …) – “I think we have sky-is-the-limit potential. We just have to keep bringing it together.”
Raheem Mostert – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
RB Raheem Mostert (transcribed by Cincinnati Bengals)
(What were your thoughts on QB Tua Tagovailoa’s injury?) – “We have all the time in the world to try to reconcile what’s going on. I pray he’s doing good. We just have to play smart and go from there.”
(Is it your understanding he’s going to fly home with the team tonight?) – “It’s my understanding, but we’ll see. I don’t know if he’s gotten out of the hospital just yet. Mike (McDaniel) just told us that he’s doing OK. That’s the first thing we’ve got to think about.”
(How difficult is it to continue playing after a situation like that?) – “We played hard. We just didn’t put ourselves in that position especially at the end. We have to understand that when it comes down to those critical moments that we are the team that can get the job done in the end part. We need to start out a little bit better and then go from there. We’re definitely going to watch the film and be critical of it. We left a lot of stuff out there that shouldn’t have happened, but that’s the game.”
Teddy Bridgewater – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
QB Teddy Bridgewater (transcribed by the Cincinnati Bengals)
Initial comments …
“Tough loss tonight, man. It was tough walking away from a game like tonight, especially given the circumstances. Obviously, seeing Tua (Tagovailoa), and hearing the news from Coach about Tua, we’re looking forward to just seeing him, and flying back home, and using these next few days to learn and grow from these first four games.”
(What was the sideline like after QB Tua Tagovailoa went down?) – “Initially it was complete silence, because our first concern is Tua. At the end of the day, football, it’s a game, but we’re human beings outside of this game, and we all have feelings. In that moment, I think you saw how everyone felt about Tua. He’s a captain on this team, and a leader, and guys have so much respect for him. The silence was just guys showing their concern, and it was great to see our team doctors doing a great job handling the situation — the trainers and everyone just responding.”
(How tough is it seeing your starting quarterback go down, and going through all those emotions, but still having to go in and play?) – “For me personally, there was a lot going through my mind, honestly. Given that against the same team I was carted off the field, so a lot was going through my mind, but I knew I just had to snap, and try and lead this team to a victory. So many guys were counting on, not only myself, but us to go out there and finish that game, and try to get a win, and ultimately we came up short.”
(What did you see from QB Tua Tagovailoa throughout the week as he got ready for this game?) – “Honestly, he’s been working with the trainers, and they’ve been doing whatever they’ve been doing. It’s been a short week, so we really just had to focus on the game plan and things like that. Whatever he’s been doing with the trainers, that’s between them, because it’s a short week. Guys have been locked in on the game plan and wanted to go out and execute at a high level.”
(So you didn’t have a ton of interaction with him throughout the week?) – “We traveled yesterday, so it’s pretty much been one day, and I don’t really know Monday and Tuesday. The trainers have a job, I have a job to get ready to play on Thursday, and that’s what it was.”
(What happened on the interception in the fourth quarter?) – “It was a hot situation. I just tried to get the ball out to beat the defender. I didn’t get what I wanted on it — tried to throw it right at Mike (Gesicki) — and it just sailed a little bit. It was tough, especially that it was Vonn Bell too — former teammate in New Orleans — he’ll talk some stuff. It was just tough, man. We’re fighting and battling to the end trying to come away with a victory. Guys are sacrificing so much in that situation, and we came up short. But it’s a learning situation for me, for the team, there are so many things that happened throughout the game that we’ll be able to learn from.”
(What was the reaction in the locker room when you all found out QB Tua Tagovailoa was going to be on the plane ride back with you?) – “Man, it was a good feeling. You could see guys’ spirits lifted, and that was some great news, especially after the result of the game. Yeah, it was just some great news, man.”
(How hard is it to play the game after something like that happens?) – “It can be tough. This game alone is tough, and the things that occur throughout the course of the game that happens, especially something like that tonight. It can put you on eggshells, or be mentally stable, and you’ve got a job to do. That was my mindset. Like I said, first I was like, ‘Man…’ but there were a ton of men on that sideline that were depending on me to go out and compete.”
(You talked about that game in December in Denver. That struck you right away — kind of the irony right there that it was you not too long ago?) – “Yeah, it definitely did. And that’s why I kind of stayed back a little bit, and just tried not to go back to December, and just really lock in on what was really in front of me.”
(When you’re being carted off, are your thoughts with you and what’s going on with you, or are you thinking about the team and what’s going on after you leave?) – “I can’t answer that, because I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the hospital.”
(You didn’t wake up until you got to the hospital?) – “They said I woke up in the back of the truck, but I didn’t remember anything until I got the CT Scan and MRI.”
(How scary is that to not have a memory and blacking out essentially?) – “It’s very scary. You hear people say injury is a part of the game. That’s the part of the game that sucks. It’s fun to compete, it’s fun to score touchdowns and make plays, but it’s that one side of the game that really sucks, and it’s unfortunate. For me, I just think about my son. And one day he’s going to be old enough to use Google, and he’s going to Google his dad, and he might see his dad getting carted off on the field, or his dad had a concussion. All those things play in your head. You really don’t think about that until you have children, I guess, but it’s just tough, man.”
(Did you look up and watch the replay of QB Tua Tagovailoa going down?) – “No, I didn’t. I saw him down there, and I just started throwing the football with Mike Gesicki. I was just processing everything, because I knew that at the end of the day, no matter what, I had to go out there and compete. No matter what was going through my mind, no matter how I was feeling, I just had to go out there and compete. It was good just being back out there.”
(What did you think of the hit itself on QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “I’ll have to watch it on the tape. I think I might’ve been looking down the field, and I didn’t really see it. I’ll watch it on tape, but really I don’t want to watch it on tape. Hopefully we can fast forward or cut it out of the system.”
Mike McDaniel – September 29, 2022 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Postgame – Cincinnati
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (transcribed by the Cincinnati Bengals)
(Can you talk about the status of QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “It was a scary moment. He was evaluated for a concussion and he’s in the concussion protocol. He was at the hospital, I believe he’s about to get discharged. That was an emotional moment. That is not part of the deal that anyone signs up for even though you know it’s a possibility in football to have something that you have to get taken off in a stretcher. All of his teammates, myself, we’re all very concerned. The best news that we could get is that everything is checked out, that he didn’t have anything more serious than a concussion. He’ll be flying back with us here on the plane.”
(Is it tough to get back into the game as players and coaches after a situation like that?) – “For me, yes; I think a lot of people struggled. I know me, personally, that if I didn’t have a job to do for the organization and the rest of the players and I didn’t have that obligation in my mind, I would’ve tapped. It’s not something that is comfortable for anybody. It was not a situation that you want for any of your players or your team in general. That’s some scary stuff. I’m just glad that it worked out.”
(Looking at the game, it was a tough time with your short-yardage running and you weren’t able to punch the ball in when you had it down by the goal line. Could you have used one or two of those earlier in the game?) – “Yes, absolutely. When you lose games to very good teams, you can always point to that. We lost the turnover battle and we were kicking field goals as opposed to trying to score touchdowns. On top of that, we had some third downs including the third-and-one I think in the fourth quarter or third. There was situational football that we had been executing and we did not today. You don’t get freebies or you don’t get passes in games against good teams. So, the point of that is it only means anything if you can learn from it, if you can get better from it, and that’s what I’m going to be challenging the guys to do because that’s what will happen in games against good opponents if you don’t take advantage of those opportunities. They win those situations and you lose, you’ll lose the game.”
(What was the message to the team at halftime and what was the message after the game?) – “The message was that if Tua had his way that he would be standing here watching us play and that we need to put forth an effort for him because one of our teammates and our brother has gone down. That was beyond what everyone else was trying to do. They had expectations to come in and play pretty well and they didn’t, so I tried to refocus them as best I could with that message.”
(What led to the determination to allow QB Tua Tagovailoa to play tonight? What factored into determining he was healthy enough to play?) – “What goes into every one of those decisions, that it starts with your medical staff but then there’s independent specialists that look into it, too. There’s an entire protocol and then you’re talking to the player as well. There’s probably five or six different layers of a process and decision-making like you do with all players.”
(What specifically throughout all the layers of the process gave you guys confidence to say you feel like QB Tua Tagovailoa is healthy enough to play?) – “Him getting cleared by people. Your standard operating procedure with all players in every single game.”
(Can you express with 100 percent certainty that QB Tua Tagovailoa in last Sunday’s game vs. Buffalo did not suffer a concussion or other head injury?) – “Yes, otherwise we would’ve reported him having a head injury. That’s why the NFL has these protocols and there’s, like every single NFL game that is played, an independent specialist that specializes in the specialty of brain matter. For me, as long as I’m coaching here, I’m not going to fudge that whole situation. If there’s any sort of inclination that someone has a concussion, they go into concussion protocol and it’s very strict. People don’t vary or stray. We don’t mess with that, never have, and as long as I’m the head coach that will never be an issue that you guys will have to worry about.”
(What allows him to be able to fly back on the team plane? Can you walk us through some of the things that he has to clear at the hospital to make sure that he is safe to fly?) – “That’s told to me. It’s not me making that decision, it’s more the medical professionals that are there with him at the time that deem him fit to leave. What goes into that, I wouldn’t pretend to know. I just report the news.”
(When you saw QB Tua Tagovailoa go down and saw him on the field, can you explain what you saw?) – “I saw him lay down. I saw that it looked like he had some stressers going on with the impact of the hit, and then once I got out to the field, I knew right away that this was at least a concussion. What I was worried about was other things on top of that. Obviously, I was very worried about his head, but you’re wanting to make sure that all things with relation to the spine and back and all that stuff, you want to make sure that’s okay. But it was very clear to me from the onset that he had, I didn’t really the know the degree of, but I knew he had a concussion. He was asking for me and then when he saw me, I could just tell it wasn’t the same guy that I’m used to seeing.”
(When do you think the players shook off the injury and put it behind them, or did they?) – “I think that was my hope just because I knew exactly the way Tua would feel, that he would want his guys to go take care of business. So, I would hope at least at halftime when I’m extending that message. I think they put it past them. They went out and fought. I think both sides of the ball and special teams didn’t show any signs of just kind of being out of it. We just didn’t make the plays that we needed to make and we were playing a good team that was taking advantage of the opportunities that we weren’t. I think that I feel confident that they put it behind them, but at that point in time you have to put it behind you but you also have to rise to the occasion and make some plays on both sides of the ball, and I think we just weren’t very complementary like we had been in the previous weeks.”
(Can you talk about the frustration of losing a game in which you had opportunities and couldn’t get over the hump?) – “I think that is something that you don’t want to run away from the frustration. I think that you have to experience this in some part to really go after all the little details that it takes to win NFL football games, so it’s very frustrating. You feel like you missed an opportunity to play toe-to-toe with a very good team and potentially beat them, but that’s the point. It’s not supposed to be easy, and if you’re wanting to play teams like this on stages like this, you can’t do some of those things. Otherwise, you’re going to end up on the short side of the stick. To me, it’s incredibly frustrating with good reason, and that’s part of what we do in professional football, and you do one of two things with it. You either use it to make you get better or you live with things that you can’t change and get worse. Our plan is to learn from it and move forward. The only thing you can do really, to me, with losses is make them purposeful, and how do you make them purposeful? You have to be better from it than had you won the game. So, that’s the way I’m going to approach it with the team and so far they haven’t done anything but answer the bell whenever I’ve asked them. I feel confident that we can get that done.”
(Is there anything you feel like in hindsight you should’ve done or could’ve done differently after QB Tua Tagovailoa went down the first time?) – “Absolutely not, absolutely not. If I would have, that would be irresponsible in the first place. I shouldn’t be in this position.”
(Given the manner of how QB Tua Tagovailoa went down similarly to how he went down last week, do you feel confident that you got the correct diagnosis the first time and that it was indeed a back issue initially?) – “Yes, absolutely. I don’t think that an injury from last week made him fall the same way this week. But yes, I do not have any, absolutely zero patience for or will ever put a player in position for them to be in harm’s way. That is not what I’m about at all, and no outcome of a game would ever influence me being irresponsible as the head coach of the football team.”
(What was the reaction you saw from the players when they saw QB Tua Tagovailoa go down?) – “I got out there pretty quick. I did notice some guys around that were pretty worried about it. I’ll tell you this much, if you guys or people are ever curious or question if Tua is the leader of the team, I think you found out pretty quick. It was a gut punch to a lot of people and I’m just very, very happy that it wasn’t anything more. I’m very happy with that and I just want to get him healthy and right for himself and for the football team whenever that is.”
(You mentioned an interaction with him on the field, so he was responsive at that point?) – “Yes, he was. When I got out there, which was pretty quick, he was conscious. I could just tell by what we were communicating and how he was talking to me that he was in the midst of a concussion, for sure. I’m no medical expert, but it was pretty obvious to me that he was just trying to grasp what was going on, what had just happened. There was a little of that foggy nature to it.”
(Do you feel like when something like this happens in a game to a player you are close with that it could have a long-term effect on you personally?) – “I wouldn’t say that. I’ll never be comfortable with it, it’s just not my personality and I’m pretty emotionally invested in these guys. It’s also a part of the game. It’s not something that goes away, but it’s not something that’s in the forefront of my mind. I don’t think it’s something I’d ever get comfortable with, but you know that it is an unfortunate part of the game. If I didn’t have so many other people depending on me to do my job, maybe it would be hard to get over but I don’t really have that option with regards to the responsibility that I feel to the Miami Dolphins organization and the fan base.”
