Tua Tagovailoa Questions Dolphins Leadership, Reveals Players Skip Meetings

After falling to 1-5 with Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa questioned the Miami Dolphins leadership.

Tagovailoa revealed that players have shown up late to meetings or skipped them entirely and discussed what needs to change for things to improve.

"I think it starts with the leadership and helping articulate that for the guys," Tagovailoa said. "And then what we're expecting out of the guys, right? 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's a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make that mandatory, do we not have to make this mandatory? So it's a lot of things of that nature that we've gotta get cleaned up, and it starts with the little things like that."

The Dolphins started their season 0-3 with losses to the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills before finally getting a win over the New York Jets in Week 4. Things haven't improved in recent weeks, however, with a loss to the Carolina Panthers last week before Sunday's loss to the Chargers.

Amid their rough start to the season, the Dolphins lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to a season-ending injury, only adding to their early woes.

Based on Tagovailoa's answer on Sunday, it appears Miami's problems might start well before the team takes the field.

The Dolphins' offense so far this season certainly seems like one that might not be taking its preparation seriously. Miami has produced the fifth-fewest yards per game while scoring a below-average 21.4 points per game.

On defense, the Dolphins are allowing the fourth-most yards per game (386.6) and the fifth-most points per game (29.0).

Miami allowed 29 points on Sunday as Tagovailoa threw three interceptions.

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Tagovailoa clearly has questions about the Dolphins' leadership, but it remains to be seen whether head coach Mike McDaniel will be out of a job at any point this season.

Last month, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Dolphins' owner Stephen Ross "likes" McDaniel and "plans to be patient" with him. However, McDaniel admitted after last week's loss to the Chargers that Ross "was really frustrated" with how things went.

"He was really frustrated, just like I was," head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters. "We talked about the challenge ahead to get ready for the Los Angeles Chargers, and that was really the extent of it."

Ross' reported patience bodes well for McDaniel, but if he loses the locker room, it might be hard for the Dolphins to keep him on the sideline.