Give Brian Flores some credit. He’s not backtracking or denying anything in the wake of Tua Tagovailoa’s harsh criticism of the former Miami Dolphins head coach.
During a Tuesday press conference, the now-Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator stood at the podium and faced the music. He admitted that hearing Tagovailoa blast him in public in such a strong fashion struck a chord that put him into a mindset of self-reflection about where he had gone wrong as a coach.
Flores maintained that he already previously understood that he didn’t have the best approach with the young quarterback and has been trying to grow from that ever since.
Brian Flores responds to Tua’s comments 👀 pic.twitter.com/LS6uD2tQMT
— Bobby Shouse (@B_Shousejr) August 20, 2024
Flores: “that hit me in a way that I wouldn’t say was positive. I’ve got to use that and say, how can I grow from that? How can I be better? Do I feel like that’s me, no. But how can I grow from that situation”
— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) August 20, 2024
Kudos to Flores for responding to this situation like a mature adult. It definitely doesn’t absolve him from unnecessarily tearing Tagovailoa (or any of his other former players down), but at least he’s owning his missteps. That’s big of him and takes a lot of nerve. Many people wouldn’t have done the same.
Hopefully, Flores will use it to learn from as a coach in a way that all of his players can benefit from now and in the future.