Nick Saban 'shocked' by Tua Tagovailoa's comments on Dolphins leadership, apparent locker room dysfunction

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa publicly called out some of his teammates amid the squad's 1-5 start for either showing up late to or skipping players-only meetings altogether. His questioning of team leadership and pointed comments toward a segment of the roster made waves throughout the NFL, and his college coach at Alabama, the legendary Nick Saban, said he was "shocked" that Tagovailoa went public with his frustration.

Tagovailoa later apologized to his teammates for making the eyebrow-raising comments but insisted that he had the right intentions.

"I was really shocked that Tua did what he did when he threw some guys under the bus," Saban said on 'The Pat McAfee Show.' "Maybe they're not playing the way they should play. I'm not taking up for the guys. But you don't say that about your teammate. But I really was proud of the way he came back and sort of took accountability for making a mistake."

Tua Tagovailoa issues apology to teammates for his comments following the Dolphins' latest loss

Bryan DeArdo

Apparent dysfunction in the locker room could be partially to blame for the Dolphins' disastrous start to the season. That Tagovailoa put some of his teammates on blast in a public setting may only make matters worse for one of the NFL's most downtrodden teams, even though he later took accountability for the mistake.

"I am proud of the way he handled it, but one of the things that I always try to tell our players is you never criticize another player," said Saban. "In my entire coaching career, you never, ever saw me criticize one of our players. I think everybody's gotta take responsibility for what they can control. If you start worrying about things that you can't control, that's going to start affecting things that you can control. But if everybody takes responsibility for their own self-determination and do what they can do to make the team better."

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel responded to Tagovailoa's comments and called them a "misguided representation" of the situation. He also said that the public setting after a loss was not an appropriate spot for his quarterback to air his grievances.

The Dolphins reportedly held a players-only meeting after their Week 1 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and it is unclear how many times the roster convened privately from the coaching staff since then. That initial meeting did not produce immediate results in the win column. The Dolphins proceeded to lose a pair of divisional games to the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills in the ensuing two weeks. Their lone victory on the year came in Week 4 against the New York Jets. 

Miami will look to get back in the win column on Sunday on the road against the Cleveland Browns.