Tua Tagovailoa's comments were 'misguided representation' of leadership issues, says Dolphins' Mike McDaniel
Tagovailoa pointed to a lack of accountability among players after a Week 6 loss dropped the Dolphins to 1-5

The Miami Dolphins fell to 1-5 with a 29-27 loss to the Chargers in Week 6, and things went from bad to worse after the game when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called out a lack of accountability he felt was rampant in the Dolphins' locker room. Specifically, Tagovailoa pointed to player-led film sessions where players were late -- or not in attendance at all -- and called on the team's leadership and coaching staff to set the standard and expectations.
Those comments didn't sit well with everyone, and on Monday, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel responded to those comments from his star quarterback, noting he felt it was not the place to air those grievances. McDaniel also called Tagovailoa's comments a "misguided representation" of the film sessions in question.
"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. "I think he knows that now. I do honestly believe there was no ill intention, but you're talking about kind of a misguided representation of player-orchestrated film sessions ... So you're trying to look for reasons you can attribute to losses, and heavy is the crown of being a franchise quarterback.
"What I do know is he's directly communicated with a lot of guys starting with last night, and that's what teammates do and you live and you learn. Ultimately, I look at it like everything else. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it -- accountability and our team's performance lies squarely on my shoulders. So, we know that as well," McDaniel added. "But the focus to beat the Cleveland Browns and fix what we need to get fixed in our game to go attack the next opponent ... and everything else is not leading us into the direction of [a] solution."
When asked if was worried of a deeper problem within the organization, he replied "Ultimately, no. And I think that is at the crux of the issue is it's inherently assumed that you're attaching reasons for failure to that. I've got a lot of things to worry about, and one of them is not those comments ... we just had meetings about the game itself — the factual successes and failures that led to the ultimate result — and that's where people's focus needs to be. I'm confident ... we are all very motivated to fix our problems and find a way to win."
McDaniel seems well aware of his position on the hot seat in Miami, and that situation isn't helped by the quarterback calling out the team's leadership for not making clear what is demanded of the roster. After the Titans fired Brian Callahan amid his abysmal start to 2025, McDaniel has to feel like his time is running short. A win against the similarly bad Cleveland Browns may buy him a bit more time, however.