Brian Flores told Tua Tagovailoa he should have picked Patriots QB Mac Jones instead, per Michael Lombardi

Miami coach Brian Flores talks with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa during an NFL preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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In his second season with Tua Tagovailoa, Brian Flores was reportedly eyeing a different Alabama quarterback.

The Dolphins coach was fired earlier this week, and on his GM Shuffle podcast, league insider Michael Lombardi pulled back the curtain on what the dynamic was like between Flores and the No. 5 overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft.

Apparently, Flores told Tagovailoa he was more impressed by his college teammate — and Patriots quarterback — Mac Jones. Lombardi opened the conversation by discussing what Flores’ successor might say to land a job with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

“If you’re really honest are you going to sit there and say I can build a team around Tua?” Lombardi said. “That’s what Ross wants to hear. That’s what Brian Flores wouldn’t say. We’ve seen all the conversations that Flores basically had with Tua, where Flores told Tua at halftime of the Tennessee game... I don’t think Flores was shy about telling him, 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.

“Remember I said there was commentary between the head coach and Tua during the season and I wouldn’t reveal what the conversation was. Well, the conversation was, hey, if I’d have knew you were going to be this bad, I would have picked Mac Jones. That’s the conversation.”

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