sacked: The Miami Dolphins have fired their coach due to……
NFL teams play the game on Sundays, and they play to win the game as the Raiders and Chargers demonstrated Sunday night. Every other day of the week, NFL teams particularly coaches do not play the game; they play the Game. The Game is about politics, connections and networks, knowing the right guy and knowing the guy who knows the right guy, and wondering who knows who
How is his son’s college baseball career going—is he at Brown? To play the Game, you glad-hand and schmooze rather than scheme, scout, and coach. You strive for job security, advancement, and increased power. The NFL coaching ladder is a rat race, and each of the 32 molehills has only one job at the top. Brian Flores recently lost one of them
He lost it because he struggled to form and maintain relationships. That message has been delivered clearly and loudly. According to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, “coaches don’t often get fired for coaching reasons.” According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, Flores’ “relationship with [Dolphins GM Chris] Grier and Tua [Tagovailoa] had deteriorated to a pretty bad place.” In addition, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross stated that “an organization can only function if it’s collaborative and works well together.” If anyone knows why Flores was fired, it’s him. He completed the task
It’s not surprising that Flores’ coaching style irritated some people. Flores is a tough guy. He rose through the coaching ranks under the most ferocious of coaches, Bill Belichick. He once attempted to fight the entire bench of the Cincinnati Bengals. Coaches may not be fired for coaching reasons but we on the outside frequently evaluate coaches for exactly that: how well they coached. Flores also provided excellent coaching. Flores was victorious in games
tenure. That 2019 team was one of the worst in recent memory. The Dolphins were the only team in the league without an All-Pro or Pro Bowl player on their offensive roster when the season began. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the team’s leading rusher, was benched early in the season in favor of Josh Rosen After opening the season with 49-point losses to the Ravens and 43-point losses to the Patriots, they were 21.5-point underdogs to the Cowboys—they did not cover—which prompted oddsmakers to set hypothetical lines for a game between the Dolphins and the Alabama Crimson Tide
Flores was the captain of a sinking ship in Year 1—but that was always the plan. The Dolphins had traded away offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil in the preseason and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick after two games, gaining three additional first-round picks in the process. With each loss, they got closer to the top pick, the ultimate prize for any rebuilding team. But then something strange happened: Flores’ ship began to sail
The Dolphins began to win, adopting their head coach’s demeanor: unwavering, fearless. They won five of their last nine games, including a 27-24 season finale victory over their bitter rival and Flores’ mentor, the New England Patriots. They climbed all the way to the fifth pick, but more importantly, they predicted future success. The Miami Dolphins
Flores’ rebuild appeared to be on track—indeed, it was ahead of schedule—because he had proven he could win even with a bad roster. Ross was “thrilled that he has a coach, in Brian Flores, who can extract the most out of his roster and put together a team whose performance is greater than the sum of its parts,” according to The Miami Herald in 2019
Flores’ ability to work with and win with that roster demonstrates another thing he did well as a coach: develop relationships with his players. Not every player adored Flores—as previously stated, Flores’ demeanor is clearly not for everyone. Minkah Fitzpatrick wanted a trade for a reason, believing Flores “had no clue who he was as a player and didn’t care to find out,” according to Ty Dunne of Bleacher Report. Current Dolphins players, on the other hand, were taken aback by Flores’ dismissal on Monday morning
I’m not going to pretend to understand how every Dolphins player feels about Flores. I’m also not going to pretend that every player accurately expresses their feelings on social media. However, the players who responded—an undrafted free agent who became a starting nickelback; an ex-Patriot; a small school offensive lineman who earned a starting job—are the type of players who would be drawn to Flores’ style. Nik Needham required the open competition to land the job. Jason McCourty witnessed Bill Belichick’s tough approach win championships. As a two-star recruit with only one college offer, Robert Hunt understands the underdog mentality. Flores had a strong connection with these players; their spirits were similar
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