Tag Archive for: Bill Belichick

Brian Flores is filing a lawsuit against the Dolphins and the entire NFL

Brian Flores files lawsuit against Dolphins, Giants, NFL

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The Miami Dolphins once again find themselves in the middle of a scandal. Late Tuesday afternoon, reports were confirmed that former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL in a federal class-action racial discrimination lawsuit.

Per the lawsuit, owner Stephen Ross is at the center of the issues in Miami. Flores alleges that Ross offered 100k per loss incurred in 2019.  Also, Flores calls Ross out for trying to make him violate league tampering rules to recruit an elite level QB to Miami. That quarterback is – according to reports by the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad – Tom Brady. Brady, obviously, went on to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead.

Beyond the Dolphins, Flores implicates the Giants and the Broncos. The lawsuit alleges that the New York Giants had already chosen Brian Daboll as their head coach before Flores had the chance to interview for the job. Texts from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick are cited, congratulating Flores for earning the job when the texts were intended for Daboll.

As for the Broncos, Flores states that then-GM John Elway and President Joe Ellis arrived an hour late to the interview, extremely hungover. This indicated to Brian Flores that the Broncos never took him as a serious candidate before they hired Vic Fangio, who is white.

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Flores was still considered a finalist for the Houston Texans job before filing this lawsuit. In doing so, he may have destroyed any potential he had to coach in the NFL again, as he may be viewed as a pariah now. However, Flores soon issued a statement after the news broke, stating he understands the implications. He is also prepared for any potential consequences.

Flores’s lawsuit could rock the NFL to its very core. This will undoubtedly lead to an investigation and many, many lawyers will be involved given the seriousness of the implication. Reports are coming out that other minority coaching candidates could potentially join Flores in his cause. They can testify their own experiences in interviewing for jobs. Jobs they knew they would not get.

This sort of situation is precisely what the Rooney Rule – which mandates that all NFL teams must interview at least one minority candidate for job openings – was supposed to prevent. However, it seems to have only exacerbated the issue.

Naturally, the accused parties are pushing back against the accusations. The Miami Dolphins issued a statement refuting Flores’s claims against them.

The New York Giants and the NFL as a whole sent out similar statements.

From a broader standpoint, the entire NFL will have its hands full for the foreseeable future. Many have accused the NFL for not seriously considering minority candidates for decades. Now, this lawsuit will put the league under an uncomfortable microscope.

This situation will be watched carefully over the coming weeks.  It is yet to be determined how potential coaches or even players will respond to this scandal.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

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Dolphins

Dolphins coaches reevaluating their methods

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The Miami Dolphins are 0-4 heading into the bye week. They have been outscored 81-0 in the second half through all four games. Players are growing frustrated with the team’s inability to execute. Now, the entire coaching staff finds themselves questioning how they’re handling things.

“We’re going to go and closely evaluate what we do in all areas of the second half – the approach, the scheme we use, defensively study what they’ve done (against) us in the second half.” Offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea said on Tuesday. “I think it’s a combination of factors that we’re really going to look closely at and determine what’s best for us moving forward.”

In all fairness, there are many rookies on this Dolphins coaching staff. Both O’Shea and head coach Brian Flores are first-timers at their respective roles. If Patriots head coach Bill Belichick were in the business of passing on his skills to his subordinates, more of his coaching tree would find success upon leaving New England. Additionally, the talent level on the roster is severely lacking in several areas. The offensive line in particular. When coaches have to add new players through the regular season, success is hard to come by.

“I would say we made a lot of changes to the roster,” Brian Flores said on Monday. “(We were) kind of building the team on the fly in a lot of ways. But we’re not going to make excuses about that. We try to put the guys in the best positions to play well, but at the same time trying to build a team and build some camaraderie and build some communication and build some rapport. I think that’s been a big part of these first four weeks.”

With this in mind, it’s not surprising to see the coaching staff looking to make some changes. Considering their desire to emphasize basics and fundamentals, the lack of execution is troublesome. The number of wide receiver drops is especially alarming. Miami ranks second in the league with eight drops. Only the Philadelphia Eagles have suffered from more with ten. So even how the coaches teach players how to catch is not immune to scrutiny.

“I think that one of the things on catching the football is it’s something that we have as part of our everyday drills.” O’Shea said. “We think that throwing, catching, blocking, tackling are things that we try to work every day, and we’re going to continue to do those, but we’re going to – as a coaching staff – again, we’re evaluating all aspects of our program right now. One of the things we’re evaluating is the teaching progression and what we do on the field and the drills that we have and those things.”

It’s not ideal to hear that the Dolphins coaching staff already feels the need to change how they do things. However, the previous regime displayed the other side of the spectrum. Adam Gase – now with the New York Jets – refuses to change. As a result, his team has also failed to win a game so far.

It’s been said numerous times that 2019 is all about evaluation for the future. Perhaps, it bodes well that the coaches are willing to take an honest look at themselves in the mirror. If they can find a method that works by 2020, then perhaps the rebuild won’t take nearly as long as projected.

“You’re always in the process of self-evaluating and trying to improve.” Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “I ask the players to get better every day. I make it a point on myself to get better every day. If I’m never thinking about how I can improve for the next week or the next day, then I think you get complacent, and then when complacency sets in, in this league, you’re not going to be here very long. That’s how I approach it. There’s a bunch of stuff – I don’t feel the need to get into exactly all of the stuff that I know that I need to improve upon, but I’m constantly evaluating myself and trying to figure out how I can become a better coach, a better husband, a better brother, a better son. That’s just how I’m built.”

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung