MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik praised quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for how he handled his benching last season but stopped short of sharing the team’s plans for him in 2026.
Slowik was promoted from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator last month by first-year head coach Jeff Hafley and spoke to local media Wednesday about his goals in his new role.
When asked about his plan at quarterback, specifically involving Tagovailoa, Slowik said the Dolphins were “way early” in the process of player evaluation, but would be looking to add competition at the position.
“We’re going to try to push competition as often as we can at every single spot,” he said. “What I can say about Tua, just from being with him last year — I know last year was a difficult year for him without a doubt, for a lot of different reasons, and I think what jumped out to me was the grace he handled that with. The way he went about his daily routine through last season, even at the end of the year, the kind of person he was to everybody and to his teammates. “I mean you can’t say enough about that, how good of a person he was and how he handled that situation.”
Tagovailoa was benched for the final three games of the season after setting a career-high with 15 interceptions through the team’s first 14 games; he also failed to surpass 200 passing yards in eight of those games and turned the ball over multiple times in six of them.
After the season, Tagovailoa suggested he would be open to a fresh start elsewhere, and first-year general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said the team will decide on its next quarterback over the course of this offseason.
Slowik said he believes Tagovailoa could bounce back after a down season but couldn’t “pinpoint” where his struggles last season originated.
“It’s never as simple as one thing ever,” Slowik said. “It’s always a lot of different things that can go into it and I could not pinpoint any specific area, not really. I just know it was very difficult year for him, and I know that everything he could control and how we went through the year, he did a phenomenal job of controlling those things.”
Slowik, who spent two seasons as the Houston Texans‘ offensive coordinator, said his system in Miami will “morph and change” based on the team’s personnel, but the “starting point” will be at the line of scrimmage and running the ball.
Dolphins running back De’Von Achane, who was named to his first Pro Bowl after rushing for a career-high 1,350 yards in 2025, drew praise from Slowik for his ability to stress opposing defenses.
“I mean he’s just a guy that can really do everything, and he does it all well,” Slowik said. “So, if we have a piece like that anywhere on the offense — it opens up a lot of doors, a whole lot of doors. I’ve been blessed to be around guys that have been able to do a lot of different things very well and it really can stress a defense in ways that I don’t think a lot of guys can.”
Slowik’s philosophy echoed what Hafley said at his introductory news conference last month, during which he vowed to for Miami to be a physical running team.
When asked whether he feels like the Dolphins have the players in place to run his preferred offense, Slowik deferred to Hafley and Sullivan to make all roster personnel decisions. Besides Tagovailoa, the Dolphins must also make a decision with wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who missed 13 games this season with a dislocated knee.
“That’s Hafley and [Sullivan] are going through those conversations about where they think they need to attack personnel wise,” he said. “I can tell you whoever’s here, whoever’s on this team, my job is to coach the absolute heck out of em and get the best out of them they possibly can.”
