Tua Tagovailoa concerned about playing for Detroit Lions, report says

Owners of the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions look to be in the driver's seat of the Tua Tagovailoa sweepstakes.

They seem to have the leverage to either force a haul from another team who wants to trade up for the Alabama quarterback, or just draft him, sit him behind Matthew Stafford for 2020, and see where it goes.

But what if Tagovailoa has a say in where he ends up?

The Miami Herald reported Thursday the Tagovailoa family is hesitant about going to the Lions due to the uncertainty of the team's coaching situation under Matt Patricia, and Tua wants to play for the Miami Dolphins.

"The Tagovailoas are concerned another poor season could force the Lions to fire Patricia — putting the quarterback in the uncertain 2021 situation of being a draft pick the new coach didn’t make," the report says.

[ Perfect fit for Lions? Tua Tagovailoa's agent wants QB to be backup in 2020 ]

The report continued to say the family "would love to come to the Dolphins," due to the weather, the region and the idea of filling the elite quarterback hole Miami has been searching for since 2000 when Dan Marino retired.

On the surface, the Lions look like an ideal fit for Tagovailoa — who is recovering from surgery to repair a dislocated hip — with Stafford entrenched as the starter and under contract for three years. Tagovailoa's agent said Thursday he prefers his client to be a backup as a rookie to gain seasonsing.

Windsor: Lions can't afford to watch Tua Tagovailoa become a star elsewhere

The Lions are 9-22-1 under Patricia through two seasons, after going 3-12-1 in 2019 and losing the final nine games.

General manager Bob Quinn, who was hired in 2016, enters his fifth year.

Owner Martha Ford said in mid-December the pair would be back in 2020.

"We expect to be a playoff contender (in 2020) and those are our expectations, which we’ve expressed to both Bob and to Matt," Ford said.

Quinn and Patricia spent 12 years working together with the New England Patriots, both starting their careers in 2004.

Quinn fired coach Jim Caldwell after consecutive 9-7 seasons, then made his first coaching hire in Patricia, saying he believed the team could do better.

Follow Marlowe Alter on Twitter: @Marlowe Alter.