Coach Files Lawsuit That Drops A Bombshell On The Rest Of The NFL

Throughout his several years of coaching in football’s toughest league, Brian Flores has had his fair share of ups and downs. Flores has lived the coaching dream. He has won countless titles, and learned from some of the best coaches in National Football League history. Little did the rest of the league know, things were about to have drastic changes. 

Flores was born and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York City to Honduran parents. After attending Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, Flores played football at Boston College as a linebacker from 1999 through 2002. Injuries derailed his career and prevented him from playing in the NFL.

In 2004, at the age of 23, Flores joined the New England Patriots as a scouting assistant, the same year the franchise won its third Super Bowl title. In 2008, Flores was promoted to the Patriots coaching staff, serving as a special teams coaching assistant until the end of the 2009 season. He was named defensive assistant in 2011, where Flores and the Patriots would appear in Super Bowl 46, but lost 21–17 to the New York Giants. Flores was named linebackers' coach ahead of the 2016 season. That same year, Flores and the Patriots led one of the best comebacks in Super Bowl history, defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51.

In his 15 year tenure in Foxborough, Flores and head coach Bill Belichick racked up a plethora of wins and three Super Bowl titles, becoming a dominant force in the NFL. After racking up their sixth championship in 2019, the Patriots relieved Flores of his duties, allowing him to become an NFL head coach. He was hired by the Miami Dolphins that offseason, becoming their 12th head coach in franchise history. In his three year stint in South Beach, Flores led the Dolphins to two back to back winning seasons, after an abysmal 5-11 record in his inaugural season. However, none of his years in Miami were good enough for postseason appearances, so he was fired at the end of the 2021 campaign. 

The head coaching vacancies following the NFL season were skyrocketing as nine teams were open to find their next head coach. Brian Flores had interviews with nearly all of them. First up was an interview with the New York Giants, who at the time, were in search of a new coach. Flores was rejected by the Giants and became irate about the situation.

He was later rejected for new jobs with other clubs and has sued the N.F.L. and its 32 teams alleging that they have discriminated against him and other Black coaches in their hiring practices. A 58-page lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court on February 1st and seeked class-action status. In the suit, Flores alleges that text messages sent to him by Bill Belichick, while the Patriots head coach mistakenly believed he was messaging Brian Daboll, show that Daboll had already secured the Giants' head-coaching job, three days before Flores interviewed for the position. Flores mentions that his interview with the Giants along with an interview he had in 2019 with the Broncos was a sham. The NFL released a statement saying the claims "are without merit." The Giants said in a statement they are "pleased and confident" with how their hiring process went. Brian Flores, in addition to leveling heavy allegations against the Giants, Dolphins, 30 other NFL teams and the league itself in a appalling discrimination lawsuit, accused the Denver Broncos of disrespectful behavior. 

John Elway, the Denver Broncos’ president of football operations, dismissed the claims made by Brian Flores in his racial discrimination lawsuit against the team and the NFL on Thursday. Elway said in a statement he wasn’t initially going to address Flores’ claims made in the lawsuit filed earlier this week, but he "could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked." In 2019, Flores claimed he was interviewed for that job because of the Rooney Rule, which is an NFL policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions. The NFL instituted the Rooney Rule in 2003 in an effort to increase diversity among the NFL's head coaching, general manager and executive ranks, according to the NFL's Football Operations website. Flores believes he was never a real candidate for the job. Things for the Denver Broncos were not looking up, as John Elway issued a statement on February 3rd saying, "For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong.” This was released shortly after Flores claimed that Elway was apparently “hungover” and that was why he was late for the interview. Days later following the lawsuit, Broncos’ owners, and general managers met and came to a decision, which was to put the team up for sale. The Bowlen family, the owners of the franchise, came out thanking the fans, city, players and everyone involved with the success of the team for the “incredible ride” they had while owning the Broncos. 

On February 2nd, Flores appeared on CBS’ morning show "CBS Mornings," along with his attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis. "We didn’t have to file a lawsuit for the world to know there’s a problem from a hiring standpoint in regards to minority coaches in the National Football League. The numbers speak for themselves. We filed a lawsuit so that we can create some change, and that’s important to me. We’re at a fork in the road right now," he said. "We’re either gonna keep it the way it is, or we’re gonna go in another direction and actually make some real change where actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, etc. We gotta change hearts and minds." Flores also alleged that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told him he would be paid $100,000 for every loss during his first season in order for the team to tank and get a higher draft pick. Ross pressured him to recruit a top unnamed quarterback to join the team, but when he refused he was allegedly cast as the "angry Black man" who was difficult to work with. Currently, only one out of 28 head coaches employed in the NFL are African American, and that is Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. There are two other non-african american minority coaches, one of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent, Ron Rivera, and one of Lebanese descent, Jets coach Robert Saleh. Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera praised Flores for speaking out, saying: "When you look at what Brian Flores has accomplished and what he has done, there is a lot of merit there." 

Brian Flores was reported to be a finalist for the head coaching position of the Houston Texans before the organization seemingly changed course, interviewed associate head coach and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, and offered Smith the position. Smith’s hiring comes about a week after Flores filed the lawsuit against the league and its 32 teams alleging, among other things, racial discrimination in the hiring process. Flores’ attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis released a letter on February 7th, following the hiring of Lovie Smith. “Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith. However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was because of his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.” On February 6th, the Miami Dolphins finalized a deal with former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, as their next head coach. McDaniel is set to replace Brian Flores for the 2022-2023 NFL campaign. Days after the NFL released a statement claiming Brian Flores’ allegations were “without merit,” commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams. Goodell’s memo, which was titled “Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” said the NFL has made “significant efforts to promote diversity,” but the results when it comes to hiring Black head coaches “have been unacceptable.” 

“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals. In making the decision to file the class action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and that has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.” - Brian Flores