Flores talks Tua, his vision for Eichenberg, where McCourty will play and more

Phase Two of the voluntary offseason program began Monday, and when Brian Flores hopped on 560 The Joe’s Joe Rose Show in the 7 a.m. hour, he didn’t still exactly know who would show up.

But he seemed to have some confidence that one pretty big name would be in attendance:

Tua Tagovailoa.

“We haven’t seen him yet,” Flores said. “Today’s the first day of Phase 2 where we’ll actually get a chunk of the guys and we’ll see them. We’re looking forward to working with him. My conversations with him sound like things are going in the right direction.”

These non-mandatory practices have been become a point of contention between the NFLPA and the league. Coaches want them. Players don’t. In the case of the Dolphins, the two sides have worked toward a compromise in which players will attend, but the work days are shorter.

When asked Monday how much of the locker room he expects to participate, Flores replied:

“I know we will have some guys here. As a coaching staff we’re excited to work with the guys that are here. And we’ll coach them and help them try to improve on their fundamentals, technique. Their understanding of the scheme. We’re working with the guys we have. But yeah, I’ve been in contact with all of our players and I know some of them are here, but we won’t know until we get out there today.”

Back to Tagovailoa.

Flores said that Tua has worked hard this offseason tackling areas of needed improvement, as instructed by Dolphins staff.

“We’ve talked to him about the Year 1 to Year 2 jump,” Flores said. “It’s a real thing. He’s more comfortable with just his surroundings, more comfortable being in a huddle, giving a cadence, going through his communication. Those little things that not one one talks about. He’s said this: He feels much more comfortable about doing those things. I think having a year under his belt will really help him. What we really like is him finding time to get with his receivers, getting with his centers, go through his cadence, go through his communication, go through his reads. They’re doing a lot of that on his own.”

More Flores nuggets from his 15-minute appearance:

▪ While Jason McCourty’s versatility was certainly a factor in the team’s decision to sign him, Flores suggested that safety will be his primary focus — listing him among a group of players of that position group.

“He’s played corner, he’s played safety, he’s played nickel, he’s played in the kicking game. Like everyone else, his role will be what he makes it. There’s opportunity for him to play in a variety of spots. We just have to see how it falls. That’s a good group as well, guys we feel good about with Eric Rowe, Brandon Jones, [Clayton Fejedelem]. Obviously we drafted [Jevon] Holland. We feel good about the competition in that room.”

▪ Rookie offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg “will play some right [tackle], could play some guard.” And while the Dolphins would prefer to have their starting five offensive line set in plenty of time to allow for cohesion, “there will be competition. That’s what brings out the best in any individual in any field. Once the results of that competition reveal themselves, we’ll make a decision.”

▪ Edge defender Jaelan Phillips “is a talented guy. He’s fast, got some quickness. Bends. He did a good job as far as taking what we taught him in the meetings to the walk through and then onto the practice field. I thought he got off to a good start. I thought all of the rookies got off to a good start. We didn’t inundate them with a lot of info. We just wanted to get out there and get the basic fundamentals and techniques taught, which I think Jaelan did a good job of that.”

▪ It doesn’t sound as though the Dolphins feel an overwhelming need to add another running back.

“We like the guys in that room,” Flores said. “It’s a hard-working group. We’re confident in them. Excited about adding [Gerrid] Doaks to that room, but Myles Gaskin, Malcolm [Brown], [Salvon] Ahmed, Patrick Laird who’s done a good job in the kicking game and have been a reliable. [Jordan] Scarlett who we just brought on. We like the group. We’re excited about working with these guys. Eric [Studesville] has done a nice job with the backs over the years and have a lot of confidence in him. We’ve got to put the work in. It doesn’t just happen. One of the things we preach to the players, we’re not going to just roll out of bed and play good football. We’ve got to come in and put work the work in, practice as a team, build that cohesiveness and get better on a daily basis.”