Austin Jackson signs 3-year extension!

Tua noted that the media, and yes, the previous coaching staff, was very harsh toward Austin (and Tua, too).

"I just smile because of where he’s come from early when we got here together," Tua said of Jackson. "There’s a lot of things that have been said about him in front of team meetings, in the media and things like that. So, I’m just happy. I don’t want to get choked up about it. What he’s done is tremendous. What he’s done is tremendous. I’m very proud of him. Very happy.”

Jackson was a first-round pick in 2020, the same year Tua was a first-round pick.

Both players were criticized by the coaching staff led by Brian Flores.

"Yeah, not this year," Tua said. "Past years. It’s awesome. Truly remarkable to sit in those meetings and have things told about you that you know aren’t true but get planted in your head. And you have the media on you as well. Then you have someone like Mike (McDaniel) and his coaching staff come in and basically just build you back up."

...

Jackson said he appreciates that McDaniel gave him a fair evaluation with fresh eyes.

"He definitely took the time to really see who I was," Jackson said.

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What was it like to get beat up a bit, by both outsiders and insiders?

"I had high expectations every time I didn't perform, it was noted and highlighted," Jackson said. "And it was very much so highlighted to say the least. But that just made me a better football player at the end of the day. I'm very tough. I understand this is football and there's certain things that are done in football. Only thing you can do is is not take it too personal."

Like Tua, though, Jackson has clearly benefited from the positive vibes and emotional support that McDaniel and his staff believe in.

"I've matured a lot. I've been through a lot," Jackson said. "I think that I was already mature coming in, but there's a lot of stuff going on. And it's a very fast pace. Nobody's really stopping to catch you up with things you should kind of know already."

During Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” pregame show, former Dolphin Ryan Fitzpatrick made scathing remarks about former Miami coach Brian Flores and his relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

...saying that the 2020 first-round pick was “broken from Brian Flores, the way that he treated him. The way that he coached him. And what happens? Mike McDaniel comes in, he restores his confidence, he gets it back and now he’s an MVP candidate.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick confirming what we all knew… Brian Flores tried to break Tua Tagovailoa. If it were up to Flores, Tua would have not be playing in the NFL right now.

Flores' name popping up in the rumor mill as a possible head coaching candidate when jobs open up after the season.

“Matt, I understand the question, I really do. My message to our guys yesterday was we’ve got 35 guaranteed days. That’s all we got that’s guaranteed. I asked them to put everything into these 35 days,” Flores said. “I can’t give that message and not heed that message. My focus is on these guys, this team, these next five games because that’s all we really have. I understand the question, but that’s where my focus is.

"All the other stuff, I ask them to block it out and I'm blocking it out myself because I think you gotta lead by example and I'm certainly going to do that. I know that that's out there, I'm not blind to any of that. But, I'm really focused on the task at hand.