Brian Flores is Suing the Dolphins and the NFL
Welp, it appears as if the decision to fire Brian Flores by the Miami Dolphins has the potential to rock the NFL as the former Dolphins coach filed a lawsuit against the team, the New York Giants, and the NFL. The lawsuit alleges the NFL of conducting sham interviews to fulfill the Rooney Rule and that systemic racism is prevalent in the hiring process for NFL coaches. The lawsuit alleges that he was not given a fair chance to land the recently vacant job with the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos in 2019. However, the 58-page document has some allegations that could rock the NFL, as Miami owner Stephen Ross offered Brian Flores $100,000 to lose games on purpose to get a better draft position.
Among the charges in the complaint filed on Monday are that the Dolphins wrongfully terminated Brian Flores, as he had back-to-back winning seasons. The Dolphins also swept the Patriots for the first time in 21 years, but neither were good enough to save his job, as he was fired the day after the season ended on January 10th. Mr. Flores alleges that African-American coaches do not get a fair interview in the hiring process and that most interviews conducted to satisfy the Rooney Rule are sham interviews with the team having no intention to hire a black head coach.
Flores shared text messages from Bill Belichick stating that he was to be hired by the Giants but learned later that they decided to hire Brian Daboll instead. During his three years in Miami, the relationship between the coach and the front office became strained. Brian Flores alleges that those strains began in 2019 when the Dolphins went 5-11 after an 0-7 start. Owner Stephen Ross was unhappy that the Dolphins won five games, wanting Flores to tank the season to land the top pick in the draft. Flores alleged that Ross offered him $100,000 for every loss. In addition, Ross wanted Brian Flores to recruit a "prominent quarterback" to come to Miami while still, he was under contract with another team.
The lawsuit is Brian Flores going scorched earth on the NFL and its lack of hiring minority head coaches. After the dismissal of Flores and David Culley in Houston, the NFL is left with one black coach (Mike Tomlin, Steelers). This could create thunderous changes in the NFL as the league itself has publicly been concerned with the lack of black coaches in the NFL. None of the four coaches that have been hired for 2022 are black, as there remain four openings, including Miami. Flores will unlikely land any of the remaining jobs with the lawsuit filing. He had thought the Giants were to hire him following Bill Belichick's text, which was included in the documents.
It will be difficult for Brian Flores to prove the allegations in the lawsuit, but any action that goes to court will be embarrassing to the NFL. However, if Flores can provide proof of the tampering charges and that Stephen Ross tried to bribe him to lose, the NFL needs to remove him from ownership of the Miami Dolphins. To quote the Joker "Here We Go"