It felt like one of those A.I.-generated press conference rants that have become all the rage — where the subject expresses their thoughts with the most brutal and outlandish levels of honesty rather than politically correct responses.
But there was nothing artificial to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovaila’s revealing comments on the ills that plague his now 1-5 team following Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for guys and then what we’re expecting out of guys,” the quarterback stated. “We have guys showing up to players-only meetings late, guys not showing up to players-only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that. Do we make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? It’s a lot of things of that nature that we’ve got to get cleaned up, and it starts with little things like that.”
This is how badly the wheels have come off in Miami. The franchise quarterback not only called out his teammates for a lack of caring and discipline, but his coach for a lack of support and direction as the quarterback and others tried to rally the troops for season-saving changes.
Sunday’s game marked a continuation of the miserable spiral the Dolphins find themselves on despite entering this year with make-or-break stakes.
Instead of crisp and highly motivated performances, each week we’ve seen the Dolphins fumble and stumble their way towards embarrassing, mistake-filled losses. Now, just a couple of years after bursting onto the scene as a quirky, yet entertaining, offensive wizard, coach Mike McDaniel feels like a dead man walking.
It all started with a listless performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 — a showing so bad that team leaders held a players-only meeting before the start of Week 2 preparation. That’s wildly early for a players-only meeting, but now we know why the efforts didn’t spark a change as the Dolphins lost two more games in a row and four of the next five.
A once dynamic offense remains neutralized by turnovers and missed opportunities. A defense that has experienced near-constant change under McDaniel (with three coordinators in four seasons) remains ineffective and has allowed at least 300 yards in each contest and 400 yards in four of their six outings.
With the loss to the Chargers on Sunday, McDaniel and the Dolphins fell to 1-15 in their last 16 games against teams with winning records. That defeat marked their ninth consecutive loss to a team with a winning record.
For a brief moment, following a valiant effort in a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, it looked as if McDaniel might manage to push and pull his players towards improvement, and maybe — just maybe — goals of a return to the playoffs and a respectable showing remained possible. The Dolphins followed up that loss with a win against the New York Jets (you have to win the games you’re supposed to win). But then came a collapse the following week against the Carolina Panthers — a game in which Miami blew a 17-0 lead and fell 27-24. And then, despite hanging with an injury-riddled Chargers team, the Dolphins again fell short thanks to a last-second field goal.
And then the death rattle returned in earnest with Tagovailoa’s news conference. His airing of the dirty laundry proved concerning for a number of reasons. Not only did Tagovailoa show that he doesn’t respect leadership, but while aiming to inspire both leadership and teammates to a greater sense of accountability, Tagovailoa showed that he needs a firmer grasp on the concept as well.
Tua Tagovailoa’s comments were an indictment of Mike McDaniel’s coaching — and Tua’s own leadership. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Tua hasn’t played well this year. Sunday’s three-interception day marked the third multi-turnover game of the season for Tagovailoa, the once-perfect fit in McDaniel’s offense, when healthy. And by disclosing that his teammates don’t take his calls to action seriously, he revealed his own leadership flaws. If the quarterback commanded respect and carried himself as a model of professionalism and dedication, his teammates would fall in line. He wouldn’t have to resort to public humiliation to get the charges’ attention.
Tagovailoa’s revelations confirmed whispers that McDaniel has struggled to run a tight ship and consistently demand excellence from his players.
The coach, of course, denied this as he responded to questions about Tagovailoa’s statement by saying, “Player-led meetings are extra things outside of what I demand. We’ve been very accountable, to me. It sounds like there was something on his mind with regard to specific meetings with a couple of individuals that he was trying to get corrected by direct communication. Clearly, he’s sending a message. From my standpoint, everything I’ve asked of the guys, they have delivered on. So I’m sure whoever he’s talking to, they’ll deliver as well.”
You sure about that, Coach?
McDaniel’s grip on his team feels shakier than ever. If players are showing up late and/or missing player-led meetings, it’s likely because they have been permitted to do so with other assemblies. And if some Dolphins care so little about the efforts of their starting quarterback and other locker room leaders, then Miami doesn’t field a roster of players with singular focus and a willingness to do whatever it takes to restore order to their team and battle to win games.
It’s hard to say where the Dolphins go from here, but McDaniel has failed in his attempts to establish a winning culture. That word “culture” gets thrown around in sports, and it’s what makes the difference between winning and losing and a flash in the pan or sustained success. But many a coach and player don’t have a firm grasp of how to build a healthy culture.
It starts not with how players operate on the field in games or even practices. A culture centers on how a team approaches its business on a daily basis, from the most minuscule of tasks on up. A coach and team leaders must establish a demand for excellence on Day 1 — long before wins begin piling up — and build the operation upon that foundation. Win or lose (because every team will most assuredly experience defeat), the approach and pursuit of excellence never changes.
The Dolphins clearly have lacked that. It’s why they have struggled against quality opponents, why they lack the fortitude to overcome obstacles and persevere through adversity, and why their season is teetering on the edge of disaster.
McDaniel’s already hot seat now has to be scorching. Innovative offensive prowess only gets a coach so far. Successful head coaching requires so much more.
Miami has glaring weaknesses with no quick fix in sight. Although 11 games remain on the schedule, it’s too late for a dramatic turnaround. McDaniel should have corrected the signs of dysfunction and poor discipline and dedication long ago. Now, even if he beats on the podium in the next team meeting and demands better, his efforts will be in vain. The Dolphins already nodded through the lessons on accountability. They have tuned out any demands for excellence.
It feels like a matter of when, not if, another franchise reset will come.