Tagovailoa told reporters Sunday — after Miami saw a late lead turn into a last-second loss to the Chargers — that players had been showing up late or not showing up for player meetings. On Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel dismissed his quarterback, noting that the postgame press conference was “not the venue.” McDaniel added that he did not believe there was “malicious intent” behind Tagovailoa’s comments, but that they were “a misrepresentation of movie tones orchestrated by actors.”
Wednesday was Tagovailoa’s first meeting with the media since Sunday, and he told reporters that he met with his teammates and answered for his actions and believed the matter was now behind him.
“I would say guys have questions about it. So you have to answer those questions,” Tagovailoa said. “Why. Some of the whys were, ‘at the time I didn’t think about it like that.’ So, like I said, it’s something I have to be better at protecting the team. Just can’t.”
In Tagovailoa’s defense, Miami hasn’t presented itself as the most professional outfit in 2025. The Dolphins looked completely uninterested in Week 1 at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, have made mistakes at key spots that have led to close losses to the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and one-win Chargers, and have only made the J-Team. Their best performance in 2025 ended with a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, and at 1-5, their sufficiently talented group is not succeeding.
That reality cannot be pinned on the players alone. McDaniel has been criticized early in the season as his place in Miami became increasingly hot.
Miami still has time to turn things around. It heads to Cleveland on Sunday, where the similarly situated Browns are in an equally bad spot.