The end of each NFL regular season brings Black Monday, where many coaches are fired and/or recycled. Every Black Monday brings a surprise or two, but this morning the Dolphins shocked everyone when they fired head coach Brian Flores.
Practically no one saw that one coming, especially as he just completed his second consecutive winning season.
Yet Miami felt Flores was no longer the right man for the job.
Brian Flores deserved, and deserves, better.
In his three seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach, Flores went 24-25. But that’s a little misleading due to the situation left to him by his predecessor, Adam Gase.
Gase, who ironically also had a three-year stint with the Dolphins, went 10-6, 6-10 and 7-9. In his final season, the team was at its lowest point and it was obvious he’d lost the locker room, so Miami sent him packing.
In stepped Brian Flores, a Belichick disciple who worked his way up with the Patriots from scouting assistant in 2004 to de facto defensive coordinator, minus the official title, in 2018.
After the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII victory in 2019, Miami lured him to South Beach as the team’s first Black head coach.
In his first season, he focused on cleaning up the mess Gase left behind.
Flores faced a dysfunctional and divided team and, along with GM Chris Grier, made the hard decisions required during a house cleaning.
They parted ways with disgruntled players and acquired draft capital through two trades in September 2019. Those moves resulted in multiple draft picks in 2020 and 2021, including a total of three first-round selections.
That year they finished 5-11 but capped off the season with a victory over the hated Patriots in Foxboro in the game’s final seconds.
In his second season, the team finished 10-6, falling just short of the playoffs.
I wrote then that Brian Flores was building something special in Miami, proof being a gain of 5 wins from the prior season.
But you also saw it in how hard the team played under Flores.
This season, things began well with a victory over the Patriots. But then they lost their next seven games and things looked bleak.
Yet Flores remained poised and he righted Miami’s sinking ship.
The Dolphins won their next seven games to get to 8-7. Then they were blown out by the Titans but closed out the season with another victory over the Patriots to finish 9-8.
Their defense improved, Tua showed promise and they had a star in Jaylen Waddle, who set the All-Time Rookie Reception mark on Sunday (105). Even more impressive was the fact that Flores was 4-2 against Belichick and the Patriots, something other Belichick disciples failed to accomplish.
These were the reasons why Deshaun Watson wanted to land in Miami.
These are also the reasons why Brian Flores deserved a fourth year.
Seeing the Giants’ Joe Judge and the Panthers’ Matt Rhule keep their jobs despite ugly performances, ridiculous press conference commentary and back-to-back losing seasons, it’s impossible to fathom that Brian Flores could be fired.
Yet that’s exactly what Dolphins management did.
ESPN reports that his firing was the result of soured relationships between Flores, Grier and Tua Tagovailoa. Some surmise that it resulted from a power struggle where Flores wanted to make coaching changes but management disagreed.
Others point to the fact that the offense never improved under Flores. This season they ranked 22nd in points and 25th in yardage. In a pass-happy league, those are frustrating stats.
Regardless, Brian Flores won and he deserved better.
He turned the team around and well-positioned it for the future.
Yet that wasn’t enough for team owner Stephen Ross, who felt the team wasn’t headed in the right direction.
“After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins,” wrote Ross in the team’s statement.
Yet Flores is the first Dolphins head coach since Dave Wannstedt (2000 – 2004) to have two winning seasons. He also has the fourth-highest winning percentage in Dolphins history (.490), behind only Don Shula (.659), and Wannstedt (.575) and Jimmy Johnson (.573)
So if Flores’ success means the Dolphins weren’t functioning at Ross’ expected level, who exactly does he have in mind?
Ross stated that he’s not interested in John Harbaugh because he wouldn’t do that to his (Ross’) alma mater. But that could just be smoke.
Brian Flores is a talented and proven head coach, so many expect him to find a new head coaching job quickly. But in this league, we know it’s hard for Black coaches to be given a second chance, even if they have winning resumes.
Ask Jim Caldwell and Anthony Lynn, who was just released by the Lions today. They have yet to receive another head coaching opportunity.
With head coaching positions open with the Broncos, Bears, Jaguars and Vikings, Flores has a good shot at securing another head coaching job.
Even more so, he deserves it.
