Tua Tagovailoa suffered another serious concussion during the Miami Dolphins‘ loss to the Buffalo Bills. Mike McDaniel and Antonio Pierce offered contradictory statements on how the 26-year-old quarterback should proceed forward with not only his career, but his life.
The two NFL head coaches took a firm stance on opposite sides of the spectrum.
Tagovailoa has a history of head injuries. His body has suffered from “fencing response” on four different occasions, though only three were officially labeled as a concussion.
There have been a lot of calls for Tagovailoa to retire in the 12/18/24 hours after his hit on Thursday night.
McDaniel was asked about his thoughts on the subject. He took a very firm stance against it. Not because he thinks his franchise quarterback should keep playing. Rather, he doesn’t think it is appropriate to comment on the future when the focus needs to be on the present.
I know the facts are it’s important he gets healthy day by day. and in that, the actual best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint. … It’s not in my DNA to think, like, hey, what does this mean? I have to put his health as the primary.
I absolutely, positively will not do anything to make anything worse or hurt any one of our players, specifically guys that are in concussion protocol. Ironically, I think there’s a lot of people that have a vested interest in the Miami Dolphins, people that want to support, but quite literally, questioning timelines, that gives forth anxiety … trying to assess what this means for playing. This is heavy stuff.
— Mike McDaniel
The 41-year-old head coach understands why the retirement discussion exists. However, McDaniel does not think it is fair or relevant in this current moment.
I think it would be so, so wrong of me to even sniff that subject. And it’s more in line of actually caring about the human being. … [You’re] talking about his career, right? His career is his.
I just really, really, really wish — I totally understand it, and it’s not misplaced; I totally get how that’s where people wanna go to — I just wish that people would for a second hear what I’m saying: that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him. So, I’m gonna plead with everybody that does genuinely care: That should be the last thing on your mind.
— Mike McDaniel
Pierce, head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and former Super Bowl champion linebacker, went in the complete opposite direction. By McDaniel’s logic, he doesn’t genuinely care about Tagovailoa.
When asked about the quarterback’s future in the league, Pierce said that he would encourage him to step away from the game because life and family comes before football. His approach to the conversation was the polar opposite of his head coaching counterpart.
Antonio Pierce provides his thoughts on what should be next for Tua Tagavailoa after he suffered another concussion against the Bills. pic.twitter.com/5wc1VMMLxo
— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) September 13, 2024
It should be noted that McDaniel did not suggest Tua Tagovailoa to retire. Nor did he encourage him to keep playing. He simply asked for a grace period in which the player can first get healthy, and then decide what to do for himself.
Pierce either did not see McDaniel’s response to the topic or chose to ignore it. Either way, they stand on different ends of the spectrum.