Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Speaks Out on Nick Saban Retirement

Getty Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa addressed Nick Saban's retirement announcement.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins is preparing to start his first NFL playoff game. But he does have previously playoff experience from having played for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

With Saban announcing his retirement on January 10, Tagovailoa spent time in front of the media the next day remembering his experience with Saban. Tagovailoa admitted that without Saban, he would not be preparing for his first NFL playoff game this week.

“Obviously, I don’t know how he was able to find someone like me all the way in Hawaii being all the way out there in Alabama. For me to have gotta that opportunity, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t had that opportunity,” Tagovailoa said to reporters, via The Sun Sentinel’s David Furones. “Obviously, we know how that journey went.

“But there’s a lot of things that he’s helped me with, and I’m very grateful on and off the field.

Tagovailoa emphasized the football world will feel the loss of Saban on the sidelines.

“He will be missed. I know a lot of people are feeling him retiring and what not,” Tagovailoa added. “We’ll have to see what that looks like. And, roll tide.”

Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Shares Lessons Learned Under Nick Saban

Tagovailoa’s comments on Saban’s retirement could be interpreted as a message to his former college coach. For now, that’s the only communication the quarterback will have with the seven-time national champion.

Tagovailoa said that if he texted Saban, he wasn’t sure it would reach the coach because of how many messages he has likely received within the past day. The quarterback told reporters he hasn’t tried calling Saban either.

But the 25-year-old did share with the media some of the lessons he learned in three seasons playing under Saban.

“He has really good perspective on coach-to-player relationships,” Tagovailoa told reporters. “Really, he just had a knack for trying to allow players or put players in the best position that they could be to be successful. To go out there hopefully build a resume strong enough so they could have a good future.”

One of the most notable coaching decisions in Saban’s career involved Tagovailoa. With Alabama trailing Georgia by 13 points at halftime of the 2018 College Football National Championship Game, Saban benched Jalen Hurts for Tagovailoa, who was a freshman at the time.

Tagovailoa threw for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns in the second half and overtime to lead the Crimson Tide to a 26-23 comeback victory.

In three seasons at Alabama, Tagovailoa completed 69.3% of his passes and averaged 10.9 yards per attempt. He also threw 87 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.

Tagovailoa Attempting to Lead Dolphins to First Playoff Win Since 2000

Although Tagovailoa never won a national championship as Alabama’s starting quarterback, he did have a near perfect performance in the College Football Playoffs semifinal against Oklahoma in December 2018.

In a 45-34 victory, Tagovailoa completed 24 of 27 passes for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns.

There’s likely to be far less scoring in the Dolphins playoff matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on January 13. But similar to his Alabama freshman accomplishments, Tagovailoa is going for history again.

Since beating the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card round on December 30, 2000, Miami has lost five straight postseason contests. That streak includes a 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills last year.

The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game in 23 years.

Although Tagovailoa has no previous NFL postseason experience, he did lead the NFL with 4,624 passing yards this season. He also had 29 passing touchdowns while completing 69.3% of his passes in 2023.