Tua Tagovailoa on receiving end as new Miami Dolphins coach delivers damning quarterback verdict

The Jeff Hafley era of Miami Dolphins football has begun.

But will Tua Tagovailoa play any part in it?

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That’s the question on many Dolphins’ fans minds.

The 2025 NFL season was a campaign to forget as the Fins finished with a 7-10 losing record and saw their former first-round pick quarterback benched for a rookie Quinn Ewers after throwing 15 interceptions in 14 outings.

Mid-way through the season Miami’s front-office underwent a shake-up after general manager Chris Grier was fired.

After the dust had settled on the season, head coach Mike McDaniel followed suit as he became a late victim of the NFL’s ‘Black Monday’.

Having acquired the consulting services of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman as they began conducting their search for a new GM, the Dolphins eventually appointed Jon-Eric Sullivan to the position.

Sullivan had spent his entire NFL operations career – beginning in 2004 – with the Green Bay Packers, and most recently held the position of vice president of player personnel.

After locking down the GM position, the search for a new head coach was in full swing, and the Dolphins once again turned to the Packers organization to appoint their former defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Does Hafley view Tagovailoa in his plans?

In Hafley’s first day on the job, he sat down for an interview with Rich Eisen, who questioned him over what the plan may be for Tagovailoa going forward, or if he even had a future with the Dolphins.

The 46-year-old remained very coy, but did allude to the possibility of there being some changes, albeit he didn’t specify at what position.

“It’s one Jon-Eric and I talked about throughout the meetings and it’s one we talked about with everyone in the meetings,” Hafley told Eisen.

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“There’ll be guys on this roster who compete, and there’ll be guys who we will go out and get that will compete.

“I think the quarterback plan is probably going to take a little time, and maybe you could call Jon-Eric and he could share it with you and then he can share it with me too.”

ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, though, is of the belief – as many around the league are – that the Dolphins will in fact move on from Tagovailoa, and it’s just the case of the logistics of how they plan to do so.

“You’ve heard Jon-Eric Sullivan, the new Dolphins general manager, be non-committal to Tua Tagovailoa,” Schefter said on Thursday.

“They obviously wanted to speak with him before they make any public announcements, but there’s a feeling around the league that has persisted that Tua Tagovailoa has played his last down in Miami.

“The only question now is how and when the team moves on from him. Whether the Dolphins want to swallow a $99 million dead cap hit in one foul swoop, or whether they want to spread it out for two years.

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“That’s the decision that the two former Packers employees will have to come to.

“But the biggest challenge that that group is going to have is finding a new quarterback, especially in the division where Buffalo [Bills] has Josh Allen and where the New England Patriots have Drake Maye.”

The Dolphins announced that they had promoted senior passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik to become their new offensive coordinator.

But even with this appointment, Tagovailoa’s chances at getting back under center for the team are hanging by a thread.

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