Whatever Tua Tagovailoa’s intentions may have been when he made comments after the Miami Dolphins’ 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers calling out his teammates for not showing up to players-only meetings, they haven’t been received in a positive light for the Dolphins quarterback.

Former NFL players, executives and ex-teammates of Tagovailoa have expressed disappointment in Tagovailoa’s comments. After having an opportunity to hear his quarterback’s words, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel also believes Tagovailoa could have handled things differently.

“It doesn’t surprise me whatever reaction — 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 on Monday. “I think he knows that now. I do honestly believe there was no ill intention but you’re talking about a misguided representation of player-orchestrated film sessions.

“The bottom line is, nobody is going to be happy and always is looking for reasons for failure to succeed, so you’re trying to look for reasons that you can attribute to losses. Heavy is the crown of being a franchise quarterback. What I do know is that he’s directly communicated with a lot of guys, starting with last night. That’s what teammates do. You live and you learn.”

After the Dolphins fell to 1-5 on the season, Tagovailoa didn’t mince words in his postgame news conference.

“I think it starts with the leadership and helping articulate that for the guys, and then what we’re expecting out of the guys, right? We’re expecting this. Are we getting that? Are we not getting that?” Tagovailoa said. “We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late, guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? It’s a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up, and it starts with the little things like that.”

McDaniel has been on the hot seat almost from the outset of the season — and his seat may be hotter than ever — but many people interpreted Tagovailoa’s comments as not only throwing his teammates under the bus, but also saying the leadership within the locker room was not respected enough for players to adequately respond. Tagovailoa, as the franchise quarterback and team captain, would be the face of that leadership.

“If players aren’t showing up to player-led meetings, that starts with you,” former NFL player and general manager Ran Carthon said. “That has nothing to do with Mike McDaniel, that has nothing to do with Chris Grier, that has nothing to do with anybody that is not in that locker room. That’s you, that’s your teammates that all wear that ‘C’ on their chest. That’s you guys not holding each other accountable. That has nothing to do with the head coach.”

On the list of former NFL players who voiced their opinion against Tagovailoa are Dez Bryant, Andrew Whitworth, Jermon Bushrod and Devin McCourty.

Tagovailoa ranks 21st in the NFL this season in QBR and passer rating. His seven interceptions are behind only Geno Smith and Jake Browning. Tagovailoa signed a four-year contract extension last summer at an annual average value of $53.1 million. Only five quarterbacks in the NFL have a higher AAV figure than Tagovailoa.

Earlier this season, Tagovailoa clapped back at criticism from former NFL MVP Cam Newton, who had cited Tagovailoa’s salary when saying that the Miami QB’s play had not lived up to his contract.

“Bro, what you’re being paid, what you’re asked to do, what you have the capability of, from one quarterback to the other — I look at his situation like, bro, come on, dawg,” Newton said last month on ESPN’s “First Take. “Especially when you’ve got a Ferrari and a Lamborghini and other amenities that some quarterbacks wish they had.”

Tagovailoa responded by saying, “Anybody can play quarterback in this league then. I mean, I want to see anybody on the streets come play quarterback. Cam’s doing his thing, for sure, but I think it’s easier to be able to hold a clicker and talk about it that way or talk about what someone else is doing wrong when you’re not going out and having to do the same as them. It’s easy to do that. I think anybody can do that. I don’t think anybody can play quarterback.”