Kevin Stefanski hasn’t coached Tua Tagovailoa yet, but the Falcons head coach thinks he already has some common ground with the quarterback.
Stefanski was hired by the Falcons after being dismissed by the Browns at the end of the 2025 season and Tagovailoa signed a one-year deal with the team after being released by the Dolphins. Stefanski told Mike Garafolo of NFL Media that he feels a desire to show that the Browns made a mistake and that he believes Tagovailoa has the same motivation as he prepares for his first season in Atlanta.
“There’s something to be said when you’re fired,” Stefanski said. “I can attest to that. You want to prove people wrong. You have a chip on your shoulder. I think where I’m coming into this, where Tua’s coming into this is, listen, this is not exactly how you thought it would go, but guess what, that’s the reality, and how are we gonna respond? I think that’s what he’s made of. You look back his career, you look back at his college career, he’s responded.”
Michael Penix will have a say in whether Tagovailoa is on the field for the Falcons this fall, but he still needs to recover from last season’s torn ACL and that process should offer Tagovailoa space to show that he’s capable of running the offense at a higher level than he reached in Miami.