The locker room door was closed on Tuesday, September 9, and Mike McDaniel was not invited inside. That image alone tells the story. The Dolphins, reeling from a Week 1 humiliation, chose to handle their problems themselves. It came just hours after Rob Gronkowski went on Up & Adams show and called Miami “terrible,” hinting McDaniel is “losing the locker room.” When a Super Bowl legend and former players like Asante Samuel Sr. are calling the coach a “pushover,” you know the noise is not just outside chatter. It is the kind of smoke that means fire. And Tuesday’s meeting was not just routine film work.

Instead, it was players taking ownership of what was supposed to be an off-day. A signal that things have hit a breaking point. The Dolphins hit pause after their ugly 33-8 Week 1 loss to the Colts. With emotions running high, the players took matters into their own hands on Tuesday, calling a meeting without coaches to talk things out and make sure everyone stayed on the same page moving forward.

Tua Tagovailoa became the de facto voice of the team, rallying teammates to show up and watch film. “I got the offense together,” Tua said Wednesday, September 10, clearly proud of the turnout. The message was simple. If this ship is going down, it will not be because the players sat quietly and waited for orders. But more because of a coach who couldn’t control his locker room. And they had reason to act.

Sunday, September 7, was not just a bad day. It was a public undressing. The Colts scored on all seven drives, piling up 418 yards. Miami barely scraped together 211 yards, their lowest mark with Tua starting under McDaniel. Tagovailoa had a nightmare outing. 14 of 23, 114 yards, two interceptions, one fumble, the worst passer rating of his career. Moreover, Tagovailoa’s QBR of 2.7 is considered the lowest by a Miami starter since Josh Rosen in 2019.

So, it looked less like a stumble and more like the start of another collapse. A repeat of last season’s 1-7 opening before the Phins clawed back to 8-9 and still missed the postseason. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks said it plainly. Tuesday’s huddle was about saving belief. “You lose belief, you don’t have nothing,” he said. That is not a pep talk. That is survival mode. Now comes the stretch that decides everything.

Patriots on Sunday, September 14. Bills on Thursday night, September 18. Jets on Monday, September 29. If McDaniel cannot seize back control now, the next closed-door meeting might not be about film. It might be about who leads the team moving forward.

Mike McDaniel clears his expectations from the locker room

The Dolphins HC didn’t hold back after Miami’s 33-8 blowout loss to the Colts on Sunday, September 7. “I saw quarterback play that was less than to be desired which Tua absolutely knows,” McDaniel said Wednesday, September 10. “He and everybody else needs to be better for us to get done what we want to get done.” Those words weren’t just for Tua; they were a call to the entire locker room, a line in the sand.

“My biggest thing is I don’t want to make the same mistakes twice,” McDaniel added. “I don’t want to have things happen for no reason or in vain. You make them purposeful by improving upon the things that you failed at and then making sure that your teammates do the same.” The coach isn’t sugarcoating it. Miami’s offense sputtered to 211 yards, the lowest in McDaniel’s tenure with Tua starting. Turnovers, missed opportunities, and defensive lapses compounded the collapse. This wasn’t just rust from Week 1; it was a failure in execution and leadership.

Tagovailoa has the talent, but Mike McDaniel’s expectation is clear: he must carry the team when it matters most. Week 1 exposed cracks, but McDaniel’s message is blunt. Learn, adjust, and take ownership. The bond between coach and quarterback is under a microscope. If it falters now, this season doesn’t just risk slipping; it risks unraveling entirely.