Former Alabama coach Nick Saban expressed both shock and pride regarding the recent actions of his former quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Saban was initially surprised by Tagovailoa’s public criticism of his Miami Dolphins teammates but was ultimately proud of how the quarterback took accountability for his remarks.
“One of the things I always try to tell our players is you never criticize another player,” Saban said Friday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I think everybody’s got to take responsibility for what they can control, and if you start worrying about things that you can’t control, that’s going to start affecting things that you can control.”
The situation arose after Miami fell to 1-5 with a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. A visibly frustrated Tagovailoa told reporters about cultural issues within the team, specifically citing teammates being late or absent from player-only meetings.
“There’s a lot that goes into that,” Tagovailoa said. “Do we have to make this mandatory? It’s a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up.”
His comments drew disappointment from former NFL players, executives, and Miami coach Mike McDaniel. While McDaniel said he believed Tagovailoa had no ill intent, he acknowledged that the postgame news conference was “not the forum” to air such frustrations.
In response, Tagovailoa issued a public apology, acknowledging that he had let his emotions get the best of him and failed to protect the team.
“I’ve talked to the guys on the team about it, talked to the leaders about it. They know my heart. They know that the intent was right,” he said. “What happens in-house should be protected, and none of that should have gotten out. So, I want to publicly apologize about that.”
This act of ownership resonated with his former coach. “When he threw some guys under the bus… you don’t say that about your teammate,” Saban said. “But I really was proud of the way he came back and sort of took accountability for making a mistake.”
Tagovailoa played for Saban from 2017 to 2019, famously throwing the game-winning touchdown in overtime to secure the 2017 national championship. Through six games this season, he has completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 1,213 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
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