Tua Tagovailoa – July 28, 2024
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Sunday, July 28, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Opening statement) – “From the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my family’s heart, I want to thank the Miami Dolphins organization. I also want to – because I am a true believer, I’ve prayed about this, I prayed on it – I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for allowing me this opportunity. I want to thank the Miami Dolphins organization. I want to thank the people that are in this room. I want to thank (Head Coach) Mike McDaniel for believing in me for entrusting this role in me as leader of this team. I want to thank (General Manager) Chris Grier and (Senior Vice President of Football & Business Administration) Brandon Shore for the immense amount of pressure that they’ve had to go through and whatnot to get this deal done. I also want to thank (Owner) Mr. Ross entrusting me this opportunity of leadership, for entrusting this role for me on this team and trusting that I’m the guy that’s going to lead this team to what we want to do and winning playoff games and winning championships. I also want to thank our coaches, the coaches in our room. I want to thank (Quarterbacks/Pass Game Coordinator) Darrell Bevell for helping me throughout this process. It hasn’t been an easy process, but we’ve had many conversations, we’ve done a lot of things that have been good, a lot of things that we needed to work on together and I’m very grateful for that relationship. I also want to thank Frank Smith, our OC, in collaboration with our head coach, Mike. And I want to thank my teammates. Throughout this process, those guys have been very, very supportive of me and my family throughout that and as a player, you couldn’t ask for more, especially from your guys. So we’re looking forward to this year. I’m super excited and ready for the first question.”
(I know this is special on many levels, but with your family here, could you just tell us what this means for you and your family knowing that you guys are now financially secure?) – “It’s life-changing. I know anyone in this room would say the same thing. Words couldn’t describe to me how that feels. It’s unbelievable, but it’s still like, I’m not like going to go and just ‘Hey, yeah, I got this much money. Now let me just go start – let’s go buy a private jet, Mike (McDaniel), and let’s go fly to Vegas and just go use all that money.’ I grew up like each and every one of you in the seats working as hard as I possibly can to be in the position that I wanted to be. I’m sure that’s what you guys are doing. And that’s how I grew up. I grew up in a middle class family. My dad was the only one that worked and my mom took care of the kids. And so my dad did whatever it took to take care of our family and I’m just very, very blessed and very fortunate that I’ve been able to use football as my career path to help my family generationally with the kind of money that I’ve been given.”
(Could you kind of take us through how this got past the finish line? We talked to you I guess last month and we got an update from you there then. What’s changed since then?) – “I think it’s been a hard process. Like I said earlier with Brandon (Shore) and Chris (Grier), I mean, those guys have worked tirelessly with my agent. I’m not going to go into any of the details, but I can tell you, it’s done. I’m not looking back, we’re looking forward, and we’re looking forward to what we can do to help this team win more games win games when it matters.”
(Your first start, the Rams game, I remember after the game you were on the field at midfield in full jersey, and I don’t know exactly what you were doing at that time, but in that moment which I know was special for you, did you see yourself getting here at that time?) – “At that time, I wouldn’t say that I saw myself being at this exact moment. In that exact time, I can remember my thoughts were more so being grateful that I was still able to play the game. I was offered the opportunity to get into the Jets game, yeah it was the Jets game, I believe. And just being able to play football when there were so many unknowns throughout that offseason – as I got drafted, you know, is he going to be able to play the same? Is he going to be able to run? Is he going to be able to move? There were a lot of doubts and as I went in there, I was just grateful that I was able to play an NFL snap and it was it was more so for my confidence as well being in there, and I just soaked up that moment.”
(Have you had a chance to speak with your mom and dad after signing?) – “Yes, so I talked to Mr. Ross, I talked to my wife and after I talked to my wife, then I called my parents. Then I called my brother so I got to talk to all of them. It was cool. It was emotional for them, but it was really cool.”
(Seems fitting that all this would happen on the day when the fans come. They get to watch, you get to address them. What was that energy like for you just to know that there were so many Tua fans there?) – “That’s fun, that’s fun. But this comes with the business, right? This comes with the position. Whether you’re liked, whether you’re not liked; you’re always going to have people tell you you’re the greatest thing and you’re always going to have people that are going to tell you you’re the worst thing. But it’s what you believe between your heart and between your head space, so that’s what I’d say.”
(You’ve led the NFL in passing yards. You’ve led the NFL in passer rating. You started in the Pro Bowl. What’s the next step for you personally and in your career?) – “Well, we haven’t won the games that we’ve wanted to win. Deep into the playoffs, get deep into the playoffs. Win the games that matter, that’s what I would say. All of that is cool, but I could’ve been the worst, had the worst passer rating, I could’ve threw for a thousand yards; but if we were in the those games and we were winning those big-time games and we got to go and win the championship, I’d trade all of that. I’d trade all of that for that.”
(When you reflect back on all those throws with your dad growing up to this moment, what goes through your mind?) – “I’m actually very grateful for the setup that my dad had given me. There’s been a number of times that after school, I’d have to try to do my homework as fast as I can because once my father was home, it wasn’t about school. Like your mind better be ready to go to go and practice. And when you practice, you had to practice a certain way. And if it wasn’t to his standard, then it, it was like, OK, I know, I’m going to have to do extra work. Or if I didn’t have to do extra work, we were going to have a talk, that’s for sure. So I just can remember after football games if I didn’t have a good game, my dad would send me to a throwing camp. And I’d go straight from my football game to throwing camp in my pads. And I wouldn’t be with the kids the same age as me, I’d be with the kids older than me. So I was kind of nervous. I’m nervous to go with the older guys because if I throw and I don’t throw it right, the older guys are going to say something and my mind is like, OK, I want to fit in with these older guys. But then at the same time, I’m like, I don’t know if I want to go through all that stress. Maybe I should just stick with the younger guys. And so one thing I didn’t want my dad to do, was my dad to come down and force me to go and throw with those guys or tell whatever coach who was there, like, ‘No, my son’s going to go throw with these older guys.’ And so I was just more afraid of the standard that that was set for me by my dad, but it’s helped me become who I am today with how I see the game and I’m grateful for that part that my dad has helped me with.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel shared with us that he gave you a big hug when he saw you after your signed. Can you talk a little bit about that and also the reaction from your teammates when you physically saw them first besides text? I’m sure they were sending you congratulations, too.) – “Yeah, so Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel, they’re knocking on the quarterbacks’ door, open the door and I see ‘Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) look. And I’m like, ‘All right, everybody’s too quiet. Let me take a look.’ And those guys are peeking in. They’re peeking in through the door and nobody says anything. They’re just nodding their heads. Everyone’s nodding their head. And so I’m like, ‘I mean, all right, is it time?’ So I walk up and as I’m getting to turn the corner, I’m like, ‘Wait, let me grab my pen,’ as a joke. As a joke, I’m like, ‘Wait, let me grab my pen.’ Chris Grier sticks his hand out. I’m like, ‘Dude, we got it done?’ He’s like, ‘Congratulations.’ So I shake Chris’ hand and give him a hug, give Mike a big hug – Mike squeezes me super hard. And then as I’m getting ready to go back into the room, lo and behold, Brandon Shore is just coming down and walking down the alley, I’m like, ‘All right, this is going to be like a two-minute walk.’ (laughter) So I’m like, ‘All right, hold up, Brandon. Let me go throw something away.’ Come back out and give Brandon a big hug. The whole process I’m sure for everyone, both sides, had to be mentally draining because there’s just so many gymnastics that you have to go through. It’s not just, here’s the money. This is what we can do. We’re going to do that. I mean, we’re talking big, big amounts of money. So I thought that was super cool and the receivers, I went into the receivers room and it was a party. (laughter)”
(Can you tell us a little bit more about Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s role in all of this? He obviously shared faith in you before his plane even landed in Miami. And now you come to this point, he has always said his job is to help the players get paid and now the biggest contract in franchise history. What does that say about Mike and his relationship with you?) – “Well, I think it says a lot. Word gets around quick and I don’t think he knows that I know, but I’ve been told from several birdies that are here in the facility, that are upstairs as well, that he went to bat for me the day that I went out and practiced 11-on-11, seven-on-seven before we went on that little break. That he went to bat for me with our owner, and I won’t go into details of things that I heard were said, but just know like, he is what he says. He says what he told me and he did what I was thinking he would do for me, and not just for me, but for any other player. So I’m very grateful for that.”
(When you were growing up you talked about going from games to throwing camps and everything. Did you – in a middle-class family – did you ever have, for lack of a better word, a real job or was this your job?) – “This was my job. This was my only job. I never had a real job. Yeah, this was my job.”
(What did you learn during negotiations about the process of negotiating an NFL contract extension from this process?) – “It’s long, brother. It’s like I said, it’s not as easy as, ‘Oh, yeah, here – let’s just throw a million dollars over here.’ Like, let’s just give you this number here. There’s just so many semantics and loops that you’ve got to go through to get something like that done, especially trying to maneuver other contracts around if you’re trying to do that. There’s just so many, many things that you got to go through, but I’m happy that we got this thing done. It’s unbelievable.”
(How tough was it for you to balance not practicing early in the week with negotiations still going on?) – “Oh, that’s tough. That’s tough for me. I don’t know how the other quarterbacks like around the league do it, but for me, I’m a rep guy. Like I need to do it in order for me to kind of see what I need to do better or see what feels right, what doesn’t feel right. And then the other thing, the communication in the huddle, right? Those guys are hearing other guys in the huddle. That’s not who they’re going to be hearing. The cadence is just a little different with the way I say the cadence than the way the other guys say the cadence. So that was a little tough for me to kind of stay out and so a lot of the decisions to being out there and whatnot, I made those knowing, like whatever’s going on outside, like, dude, this is the reps that I need and that’s why I was out there.”
(Have you had a chance to talk to Dan Marino about this and what did he say?) – “No, I haven’t seen Dan (Marino) in a while, but Dan will be excited. Every time we see Dan in our quarterback room, he’s really excited.”
(Now that you have the backing of the organization, the backing of the fans, getting this deal done, what’s next for you? What’s the best part about having all this done and kind of looking forward to the next, hopefully get this organization that playoff win and the bigger picture – winning it all?) – “That’s exactly what it is. That’s exactly what we’re looking forward to. Now that all of this is done, this is behind us, we know heavy is the crown, so whoever’s wearing that. Like right now, I’m the highest paid employee in this in this office. I’ve got to get my whatever together, I’ve got to get that right and get our guys moving in the direction that we need to go, to be able to do those things.”
(You gave the “show me the money” to the crowd. Take us through the evolution of showing your personality more to the fans and to us?) – “Yeah, that was somebody told me that I wouldn’t say it. So that’s why I said it. (laughter) It wasn’t like I quoted that from a movie. Somebody told me, ‘You won’t say it.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ So I said it.”
(You’ve talked about how you are grateful to the organization, to your family – can you talk about why do you love Miami as a city? And why did you want to stay?) – “Well, I grew up in a similar state, if you will. Hawaii is also a melting pot of many different cultures, right? You have Asians, you have Polynesians, we have Hispanic, we have it all down there in Hawaii. And out here, it’s very similar, but there’s more Hispanic people – people that speak Spanish, Cubans, Colombians, and it’s also a melting pot in that way. But the weather does justice, the food does justice. And I just don’t think you’d want to be anywhere else. Taxes. (laughter)”
(Obviously, having met you when you were 16, watching through the Elite 11 journey – what would you say to that 16-year-old kid about the journey? And what is necessary to be successful as an NFL quarterback?) – “You know, I think I would tell that 16-year-old Tua to continue to do life the exact way you’re doing life. The lessons that I learned from 16 till now, I wouldn’t change any of that. I wouldn’t deviate from any of the things that I’ve made mistakes with and where I found success. So I would tell him just continue to do what you’re doing. You’re going find it and when you find it, you’ll know you found it.”
(You’ve talked about this a little bit before, but can you just walk us through your journey from the day Head Coach Mike McDaniel was hired to now and how you transformed as a player and a person?) – “Dude. We’d be here forever. That’s like so long because then we’re going to talk about the jet conversation, then we’re going to talk about the conversation when he got here, then we’re going to talk about the videos that he’s shown, I’ve forgot how many, like 900 clips. I mean, that in itself is like a book already that we’re talking about. Then, OK, let me go profess to the world that you’re my guy. You’re this, you’re that, let me go be bold. But yeah, there’s just so many things that we’ve gone through from the journey of two years ago, and it’s not just football related. It’s just life related. A lot of it is much more life related off the field type of things, the mental aspect of the game, just the mental aspect of life, the mental aspect of family life back home, and just a lot of things like that and it’s really helped me throughout the course of growing up from, what was that, my third year? My third year growing into this offense and growing into the player that I am in this league and the man that I am off the field, there’s just so many so many things to talk about. But in a nutshell, that’s sort of what it is and it’s a cool full circle moment, because it’s what he said he’s wanted to do for not just me or said player, but it’s for all the players that he wants us to make money and he’s going to do everything he can to help us do that.”
(I did want to know, there’s an emphasis put on mobility. Losing weight, trying to work on the mobility – what do you think that will do for your game?) – “Well, I think that’ll do a lot. Being more mobile, being able to run the ball a little more, being able to try to simulate that I am trying to run the ball a little more then pull up and able to catch someone off guard in a way. I just think being more mobile, being lighter on your feet, all of that helps with this game and everything in this game helps. That’s sort of the thought there.”
(What’s your first big purchase?) – “My first big purchase, what’s the most expensive thing? (laughter)”
(A house? NFL franchise? A jet?) – “A jet? No, I don’t know. I haven’t thought about purchasing anything big. Everyone is talking to me about collecting watches and what not, I’m just not a watch guy. And then clothes, I’m just not a clothes guy, too much.”
(Hawaiian property? Do you have property?) – “I probably wouldn’t, taxes, too much over there. (laughter) That’s too much, so I probably wouldn’t want residency out there. But to go back and visit my family, I would do that. But to be able to do the things that we need to survive, we don’t need that much money, but to have that much money to be able to take care of my family and then my kids’ kids, and their kids’ kids, having that is very, very cool and it’s very, very special. I think anyone here that would be in this position would say the same exact thing and would be extremely grateful.”
