Tagovailoa told reporters on Sunday — after Miami saw a late lead turn into a last-second loss to the Chargers — that players had been showing up late to or no-showing player-only meetings. On Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel rebuffed his franchise quarterback, noting that a postgame news conference was “not the forum.” McDaniel added that he did not believe there was “ill intention” behind Tagovailoa’s comments, however, they were a “misguided representation of player-orchestrated film sessions.”
Wednesday marked Tagovailoa’s first session with the media since Sunday, and he told reporters he met with his teammates and answered for his actions, believing the matter is now behind them.
“I would say guys had questions about it. So you gotta answer those questions,” Tagovailoa said. “The why. Some of the whys were, ‘at the time I didn’t think of it like that.’ So, as I said, that’s something I’ve got to be better with in protecting the team. Just can’t do that.”
In Tagovailoa’s defense, Miami hasn’t presented itself as the most professional outfit in 2025. The Dolphins looked entirely disinterested in their Week 1 drubbing at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, have committed errors in key spots that have led to close losses to the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and Chargers and have just one win earned over the lowly Jets. Their best performance of 2025 ended in a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, and at 1-5, their adequately talented roster is underachieving.
That reality cannot be pinned on the players alone. McDaniel has been criticized through the start to the season with his seat in Miami becoming increasingly hot.
Miami still has time to turn things around. It heads to Cleveland on Sunday, where the similarly embattled Browns find themselves in an equally bad spot.