Amid much outside doubt on whether Tua Tagovailoa can emerge as the next franchise quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, head coach Mike McDaniel is confident that the second-year passer can take a crucial step in his development in the 2022 season.

Overall, Tagovailoa orchestrated an up-and-down 2021 regular season with Miami. He had promising showings along the way, which included recording four passing touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons. On the other hand, he did have his fair share of struggles in converting third downs; he threw four interceptions and posted an 81.5 passer rating in such downs.

McDaniel has already done some scouting homework on the Dolphins passer, and overall, he sees plenty of promise in the former Alabama Crimson Tide star.

“What I've seen is a skill set that I'm familiar with, that's very successful in this offense,” McDaniel told ESPN. “You're seeing a very accurate passer that receivers love to catch footballs from — tight spirals and accurate throws, which are huge for run after the catch and YAC yardage. What that means for an offense is if you have people who can run after the catch, that's an outstanding skill set for him.”

McDaniel was quite creative in what he called for both Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance during his final season as San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator. He sought to exploit their overall strengths as passers and called plays that did just that as well.

Now with Tagovailoa, McDaniel believes there is much potential for the Dolphins starting quarterback when it comes to his prowess in conducting play outside the pocket.

“I also see some great athleticism, some natural pocket movement and really, a tough competitor that's willing to stand in there when necessary,” McDaniel said. “All of these things that are components to a quarterback's game that are very important in NFL systems.”

McDaniel is coming in with the mindset of simply getting the most out of his players and also being adaptable, which is a sheer concept that he learned during his days of working alongside the likes of Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur years ago with the now Washington Commanders.

“Everything is tailored to the skill set of our players, and it looks a little different,” McDaniel said. “It's the coolest part of our job. … It's really fun because you don't limit yourself and you kind of don't know where it's going to go, but you're working with players, finding out what they're comfortable with and adjusting on the fly. It's one of my favorite parts of the process.”

McDaniel is taking over a Dolphins team that had quite the roller-coaster campaign this past season, which included a seven-game winning streak and a 9-8 finish. Tagovailoa noted in January that he came away from the year with plenty of learning lessons after “being able to go through the ups and downs” with his teammates.

Much attention sure will be centered on just how well McDaniel and Tagovailoa will mesh in the 2022 campaign. But as McDaniel noted in his introductory press conference, success for Miami will not simply come down to Tagovailoa, but rather how the team can “grow together.”

Nonetheless, a crucial 2022 season awaits Tagovailoa in what will be his third year with the Dolphins.