Dolphins' Mike McDaniel offers stronger reaction to controversial Tua Tagovailoa comments about teammates

Shortly after the Miami Dolphins suffered a 29-27 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) this past Sunday, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa generated headlines when he called out teammates who have either failed to attend players-only meetings or were late for those meetings in recent weeks.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel initially seemed to defend Tagovailoa regarding those comments. On Monday, McDaniel offered a stronger reaction after he had an opportunity to hear what his quarterback had to say. 

Mike McDaniel thinks Tua Tagovailoa used wrong "forum" for comments

"I think regardless of intent and what was on Tua's mind after a loss, as the franchise quarterback, that's not the forum to displace that," McDaniel said, per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. "I think he knows that. Now, I do honestly believe there was no ill intention, but you're talking about, I think, a misguided representation of player-orchestrated film sessions."

Chatter about culture issues that may have impacted the Dolphins during McDaniel's tenure hovered over the franchise long before the club fell to 1-5 on the season. After Tagovailoa spoke on Sunday, an unnamed veteran coach from a different team told Mike Sando of The Athletic that it seems the Dolphins lack "a dynamic leader." Per Tyler Lauletta of Sports Illustrated, current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark is among former NFL players who believe Tagovailoa should hold himself to a higher "level of accountability" as Miami's QB1. 

"The bottom line is no one's going to be happy and [people] always are looking for reasons for failure to succeed," McDaniel continued. "So you're trying to look for reasons that you can attribute to losses, and heavy is the crown of being a franchise quarterback."

That crown won't get lighter if the Dolphins keep losing. Some reporters and analysts mentioned during the summer that Miami could part ways with both Tagovailoa and McDaniel if the club failed to participate in the upcoming postseason tournament. Thus far, the 2025 Dolphins have only managed to earn a victory over the winless New York Jets. 

Miami next plays at the Cleveland Browns (1-5) this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the Dolphins as 2.5-point underdogs for that contest. 

Dolphins are "very motivated to fix our problems" amid losing season

"I've got a lot of things to worry about, and one of them is not those comments and where our team is lying after that," McDaniel added. "We've just had meetings about the [Chargers] game itself, the factual successes and failures that led to the ultimate result, and that's where people's focus needs to be. We are all very motivated to fix our problems and find a way to win."

If the Dolphins fall to the lowly Browns in Week 7, McDaniel may lose the right to show he can be the right man to fix what's ailing the AFC East club.