Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel doesn't approve of how Tua Tagovailoa called out teammates. Zach Sieler says the D-linemen handle issues privately.
MIAMI GARDENS — The cleanup from the controversy started by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa began shortly after the Miami Dolphins’ latest loss and appears to be ongoing.
Minutes after the Dolphins lost 29-27 to the Los Angeles Chargers to drop to 1-5, Tagovailoa accused teammates of being late to player-led meetings, conjuring memories of tardiness of a year ago that the Dolphins thought were behind them.
Tagovailoa’s comments have been met with criticism from those who say such complaints should be dealt with behind closed doors.
“It doesn’t surprise me, whatever reaction,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think you know 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. I think he knows that now.”
On a day in which four players met with reporters, most were reluctant to discuss the issue, perhaps not wanting to enflame it further or be guilty of breaking the unwritten rule Tagovailoa broke.
“Anything that happens within the building or anything we talk about with each other should stay between each other, you know what I’m saying?” center and fellow captain Aaron Brewer said. “It’s not for the outside world.”
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler, another captain and reigning team MVP, said he did not want to “critique” how another player handles his business. But Sieler added, “I know when we’re taking care of things in the D-line room specifically, I make sure you have one-on-ones. If it’s a real issue, you bring it up with the group, with each other. Internally — that’s how I’ve always handled my business.”
Tua Tagovailoa asked about team taking on 'woe is me' mentality
During his postgame comments, Tagovailoa was asked how the team can avoid taking on a “woe is me” mentality as close losses keep occurring.
“Yeah, well, I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for the guys, and then what we're expecting out of the guys,” Tagovailoa said. “We're expecting this. Are we getting that? Are we not getting that? We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late. Guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There is a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make that mandatory? Do we not have to make that mandatory? So it's a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up. It starts with the little things like that.”
Asked to clarify if he meant players were late or skipping the meetings, Tagovailoa said, “Late. Yeah.”
Since Tagovailoa didn’t name names, he risked a potential reaction from teammates who might feel he was pointing a finger at them.
“I think that’s a concern void of communication,” McDaniel said. “There’s a real easy way to clarify with teammates and that’s literally telling them. That was definitely on his plate last night and this morning.”
The Dolphins next travel to Cleveland to face the Browns in a matchup of 1-5 teams. McDaniel said turning around the Dolphins’ fortunes is his focus rather than the Tagovailoa controversy.
“I’ve got a lot of things to worry about,” he said. “One of them is not those comments and where our team is lying after that.”
McDaniel did, however, clarify that he thought any issues Tagovailoa has with meetings now is “completely separate” from culture problems last year, when players would be late to mandatory meetings organized by coaches — not voluntary meetings called by players.
“This is a different topic altogether,” he said.
Sieler described the locker room as having grown closer together “and I think we’re stronger now than we ever have been. And we’re still working through some things.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tua Tagovailoa explaining controversial comments to Miami Dolphins teammates
Category: Football
