Brian Flores Was Fired By The Dolphins, In Part Because He Wouldn’t Recruit Tom Brady In 2020
February 2nd, 2022
Dolphins whiffed on Tom Brady.
Joe has always written that tanking is good. Tanking gets you better players. And a reason former Dolphins coach Brian Flores is unemployed and suing the NFL is that he refused to tank — or recruit a quarterback who ended up winning the Bucs a Super Bowl.
In his lawsuit against the NFL, Flores claims he disobeyed orders from Dolphins owner Steven Ross to tank the 2019 season for Joe Burrow.
Had Flores done that, not only would he be employed, he’d possibly be in a Super Bowl now as Burrow has led the bungling Bengals there.
You are either playing for the Super Bowl or you are playing for the draft (i.e. tanking). Tanking is good because it can help set you up for success. So what does this have to do with the Bucs? Flores, a former Belicheats assistant, was ordered by Dolphins owner Stephen ross to hang out on Ross’ yacht in the winter of 2020, as Ross had a special visitor coming. That visitor was soon-to-be free agent Tom Brady, per Jake Aferlat of the Sporting News.
Ross wanted Flores to court Brady to play for Miami. But Flores refused to attend. Why? It was before free agency opened and recruiting Brady before the legal tampering period was against NFL rules.
So instead, Brady signed with the Bucs.
Had Flores obeyed his employer the Dolphins would have had Burrow (and Flores would still have a job), and Brady may have chosen the Dolphins instead of the Bucs. History would have changed if the latter happened. The Bucs would not have won the Super Bowl.
So Joe guesses it is a damn good thing Flores was insubordinate to Ross? Thank goodness for the Bucs.
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:44 am
Sitting starters in the last week of the regular season is one thing. Telling your coach in the middle of the season that he will get paid more if he loses games, that’s completely different. The Dolphins ticket holders should sue the team if this is true. I imagine the renewal emails they got before 2019 implied the team wanted to win.
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:44 am
Ifs, wishes, and dream… this is going to be a long off-season and it hasn’t even officially begun yet
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:45 am
If this proves true, Ross should get a harsh punishment from the league. Wanted to tank for a better draft choice? Take away their next first rounder, and second. Look I know this is done, but when you get caught at it, you need to pay the price. Kuddos to Flores for having integrity.
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:48 am
He should not have sued the NFL.
Now, he will be blackballed for a suit that will be very hard to prove/
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:52 am
I will never believe Brady was ever going to play for the Dolphins. I can understand him going there to get wined and dined, but saying Brady was EVER going to play in Miami is laughable.
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:56 am
Maybe JayZ can buy the Broncos and hire Flores.
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:58 am
Joe, what I was reading is that this could cost Ross big because at that time the NFL just started partnering with online gambling companies. Not good for Ross. Good for Flores.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:00 am
Tanking is the epitome of a losing culture.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:05 am
Flores should of been able to build his team the way we wanted too. It’s his resume, and if he didn’t want Brady so be it.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:09 am
Lovie tanked for Jameis. Indy sucked for Luck. Teams do it and rightfully so. Want to win? You might want to check your ego and morals at the door so you can get a QB. Jameis turned out not to be the answer but tanking was the right thing to do. The bigger crime for Miami was taking Tua over Herbert.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:23 am
Well, it seems Brian Flores is an upstanding man who would do the right thing, so that is commendable. Also tanking the season, besides being dishonest, is also a dubious proposition when it comes to getting a QB. The chances are at best 50/50 the QB will succeed. And then there are many second and later rounds (even 6th round – TB12) QBs who make it.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:33 am
Well, every team missed on Brady 6 times so it’s not like everyone has the foresight to draft a HOFer late. Patriots got extremely lucky.
February 2nd, 2022 at 9:58 am
Give Brian Flores a break. Everyone connected to Belichick knew Brady was finished as a starting QB.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:02 am
Honestly I understand this a bucs site and I been here for a long time. But reading “if he wouldve tanked, he wouldve stil had a job” is dissapointing as well as reading some of these comments. An african american man got screwed out of the giants job and got used, just to satisfy the “rooney rule”. An african american coach by the name of Byron Leftwich made demands to get rid of an underperforming GM, and bring in an African American GM , and now leftwich is getting treated bad. These fans want an african american man in Todd Bowles gone, for the dumbest reasons.
We need to fix the hiring. Even if flores would’ve tanked there is no guarantee burrow wouldve fit the scheme Miami has. Also Cincy has , joe mixon, jamar chase, ter higgins, and tyler boyd. ALL premier weapons that miami doesnt have. So saying “dolphins would be in the superbowl” if they had burrow is an assumption and a bad one.
This is definitely the most disappointing article I’ve read on this site.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:04 am
Flores isn’t going to win any of these battles.
1. I doubt there’s any evidence, written or taped in terms of throwing games in Miami for $100K apiece.
2. The NY Giants can just claim that Brian Daboll was their choice from the get-go, and that interviewing Flores was simply compliance with the Rooney Rule. The Belichick texts don’t reveal or necessarily imply racial bias.
That’s not to say that the NFL does suffer from an under-representation of minority head coaches. The problem is that it is all but impossible to mandate or legislate good, ethical behavior towards hiring minorities in any workplace.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:10 am
ClodHopper Says:
February 2nd, 2022 at 8:56 am
Maybe JayZ can buy the Broncos and hire Flores.
………….
Yeah then he can stop biotching about no Black owners and White slave owners sitting in their luxury booths watching their slaves beat each other up.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:13 am
@941bucsfan
“An african american coach by the name of Byron Leftwich made demands to get rid of an underperforming GM, and bring in an African American GM , and now leftwich is getting treated bad.”
The issue i have with that statement is why can’t it read “and bring in ANOTHER GM…”… Everything now has color attached to it and that will only make matters worse.. we all bleed red. Employers should hire MOST qualified, not collect races like it were completing a pokemon card set.
I know it is unicorns and rainbows, but i wish we could get back to being “fellow human beings” and understand we all need each other… ok, sorry for the rant…
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:22 am
What is extremely sad is even in 2022 there even needs to be a Rooney Rule to make people in power do what is ethical and right. It is further sad that most of you here will have strong opinions about what Flores is doing but have no outrage about what NFL owners are doing. When the Rooney rule started there were 3 Black coaches in a business where the majority of frontline workers are Black. The fact that 19 years later there is only 1 Black coach speaks not to the credentials, experience and skills of those interviewed but much more to the bias of those making hiring decisions
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:29 am
This league is full of questionable ethics, so you ride or die by your choices. Unfortunately, Brian Flores will never see an NFL sideline again. But, something tells me he’s totally fine with that.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:41 am
This is yet another disgusting story on the NFL. Brian Flores does the right thing, follows the rules, and he gets canned for it. Had he done the wrong thing and the NFL found out he’d be punished for it.
The texts Brian Flores has from Belichick proves the Rooney Rule is a farce and that the NFL has an inherent problem with prejudice at the very least. I don’t care how many “Stop Hate” or “It Takes All Of Us” messages the NFL puts on the field. A black assistant coach in the NFL trying to get a head coaching job is akin to a person making their way through a rain forest and not getting bit by a mosquito. The NFL has done nothing about it.
I find it funny that once Bill Belichick realized he made a mistake he signed his last text with “BB” as if to say “I’m done communicating”.
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:43 am
I’d like to believe Flores had Belichick as a mentor to run things by and both probably came to the conclusion that he was constantly being set up to be the fall guy.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:00 am
I think Bill Belichick had a senior moment.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:20 am
If true and they offered him $100,000 for every loss and told him to go recruit a player before it was legal, the Dolphins are going to be looking for a new owner
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:28 pm
941 how did Flores get screwed out of the Giants job? They wanted Daboll. Sure he got screwed with the bogus interview but Flores left town with multiple bad things being said about him in Miami.
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:41 pm
There is bad things said about every coach. There will be bad things said about BA after he leaves. Lets talk about how david cullen was hired just as a stepping stone for josh mccown. There is no reason flores shouldve been fired. And over the next 3 months all hell is about to break lose in the nfl especially with this lawsuit. And if he has had so many “bad” things said about him why is he getting so many interviews??? Oh wait, nevermind I know why
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:42 pm
@darengibo my point is, if Leftwich wanted john spytek maybe jacksonville would budge. But no way will jacksonville let 2 african american americans pretty much run the whole franchise.
February 2nd, 2022 at 12:44 pm
Flores is no idiot. He knows he will never be an NFL coach again. HE figures the issue of the league being 70% black and only having one black HC needs to be addressed. This despite there being a multitude of qualified black candidates. HE was fired despite having a winning record. HE will certainly lose his lawsuit. But issues will be highlighted and addressed because of his sacrifice. I mean lets be clear here, we have several HC coaches in this league who you shake your head at wondering how they got those jobs. I understand why he is doing what he is doing. Its that issue nobody wants to talk about….And most of you know its true
February 2nd, 2022 at 1:17 pm
LOL, this is so ridiculous.
Miami had nowhere near the talent level that Tampa did already at that time. Zero chance Brady would have gone to Miami, sorry.
Maybe they could have gotten Burrow… does that mean they’d automatically be in the SB right now? Nope.
This is nothing but a whole lot “ifs” “buts” and “maybes”…
February 2nd, 2022 at 2:07 pm
Flores should of been fired for stupidity for not signing Brady.
February 2nd, 2022 at 2:07 pm
This is all about gambling. The more mainstream sports gambling becomes, the more outing of cheeting by the wrong people will be exposed.
February 2nd, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Throwing games is not about gambling it’s about draft picks and teams do it all the time.
February 2nd, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Hue Jackson, and now Brian Flores, admitted to being approached with bonuses, vacations or flights to lose games by ownership in order to get better draft picks. If people are paying to have games thrown to get a Burrow or a Baker, and impacting the careers of players on those teams by making bad calls or benching better players, there must be huge motivation to impact the outcome of a super bowl or key played game.
February 2nd, 2022 at 3:34 pm
Teams throw games all the time, yes unofficially. But usually its just by not trying very hard.
You usually dont have ownership bribing the coach with money to lose a game.
And that is illegal. Not just against NFL rules but it’s against federal law because of gambling concerns.
February 2nd, 2022 at 3:49 pm
Umm, he wouldn’t recruit him illegally
February 2nd, 2022 at 3:51 pm
Teams tank for picks all the time but difference is the money part. That’s considered fixing games and against NFL rules
February 2nd, 2022 at 4:40 pm
When is it ok to start tanking? After the first loss? 2nd? 7th? Do you think Pittsburgh may have started to tank sometime before they ended up in the playoffs? Competition isn’t about trying to lose.
February 2nd, 2022 at 6:32 pm
The NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe says he has a source who heard the $100,000 bonus per loss that Stephen Ross offered to Brian Flores.
February 2nd, 2022 at 7:23 pm
Flores wanted Herbert in that draft the owner wanted Tua. I don’t believe Brady would ever consider Miami. I don’t believe that source.
February 2nd, 2022 at 7:38 pm
Aww Flores is too righteous. Now he’s the victim. News flash not everyone gets along
February 2nd, 2022 at 10:26 pm
When will we learn? Tanking is not only an immoral LIE to the fans…everybody deserves a freaking refund for those games it’s UNNECESSARY.
How did that work out for us? The worst freaking mistake of the pst decade…the groper who was an interception machine. And what’s worse if you think about it is that JW wasn’t the only loser at the top of the board. MM was the next pick and he was being loudly debated as the correct choice by people who should know better as in Tony Dungy.
Point is picking first is no guarantee nor is it an abolute requisite. Mahomes went 10th…Mac Jones went 15th…Russell Wilson in the 3rd round…Josh Allen went 7th and for every Burrows we could point to Fameis Jameis and MM.
Losing on purpose is for LOSERS! If your GM sucks that badly that he can’t find a QB don’t blame it on not having the top pick in the draft.
I rest my case with our two SB QB’s!!!!! Tom Brady the GOAT 6TH ROUND!
And Brad Johnson almost decided to become a school teacher because he wasn’t picked until the NINTH ROUND!!!
The TWO Buc SB QB’s were picked in the 6th and 9th and one of them is the GOAT.
It’s asking a lot of a coach and his players to LOSE on purpose for some FUTURE pick that may or may not work out. Again…and you say a drunken 3AM groper in his first off season? Was there anything in JW’s college career that indicated he might do something so incredibly freaking STOOOPID in his first off season?
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:06 pm
Flores is such an idiot, I can see now why he got fired and no one else wants to hire him. At first, it seemed ridiculous you’d fire this guy – but he’s clearly a nutjob race baiting SJW who needs attention. Then again he is a millennial, and he’s showing why you should never hire a millennial for anything. They’ll always stab you in the back, and claim to be a victim at the first sign of trouble.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:06 pm
New York Giants wanted an offensive minded Head Coach. Brian Flores is a defensive coach. As a Head Coach Brian Flores is 24 wins- 25 losses. Very Impressive.
February 2nd, 2022 at 11:37 pm
It’s actually an investment in the future. It’s smart business.
February 3rd, 2022 at 5:37 am
@JOE
It’s a BAD investment.
February 3rd, 2022 at 6:58 am
T
February 3rd, 2022 at 7:00 am
I guess you can’t speak facts about racism in this country lol lol 😆
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 am
941 Thank you for bringing up the bigger picture. But everyone please wait let the rest of the information come out on both sides of this issue.
Because it looks like their’s is more to come!!
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:50 am
Brian Flores’s parents are both from the Honduras. He is a Hondurian American. Like Ron Rivera, Tom Fears, and Tom Flores, He is Latino football coach. He is falsely being portrayed as an African American football coach.
February 3rd, 2022 at 12:23 pm
@Oneilbuc: You hit it right on the head. What the NFL needs is not empty promises but real affirmative action, just a few ideas I’ve had off the top of my head: Extra timeouts for Black coaches, playoff scenario tiebreakers go to Black Coaches, Extra coache’s challenges for Black coaches and a million other things they could do to help Black coaches win and prosper.
Why is a helping hand okay in government jobs, college admissions etc. but not the NFL?
February 4th, 2022 at 2:44 pm
Flores worked 10 years for Belichick and his Patriot resume is the reason he was hired by Miami. Belichick erroneously sent Flores a private Text, however Flores decided to go public with it. Conversations between Flores And the Miami owner were private, yet Flores went public with them. Hard to imagine any NFL Team hiring him unsure of him again developing diarrhea of the mouth.