MOBILE, Ala. — Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores made the interview rounds on Wednesday with his attorneys, Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis, to delve deeper into his class-action lawsuit against the NFL released Tuesday, which alleged widespread race discrimination in the league for Black coaches pursuing prominent roles.
The suit accused NFL teams of not taking Black candidates seriously in the interview process of hiring head coaches. It also claimed Black coaches are retained at a lower rate than white counterparts that have similar on-field success and are treated differently during their tenures.
“We’re at a fork in the road,” Flores told CBS Mornings, the national morning show. “We’re either going to keep it the way it is or we’re going to go in another direction and actually make some real change where we’re actually changing the hearts and minds of those who make decisions to hire head coaches, executives, etc.”
Flores added on ESPN: “We didn’t have to file a lawsuit for the world to know there’s an issue with hiring and firing practices in the National Football league… We need change. That was the No. 1 reason.”
In his lawsuit, Flores made allegations against the Miami Dolphins that owner Steve Ross incentivized him to lose games in the 2019 season by paying $100,000 per loss as a method to “tank” for a higher draft pick. Flores, nonetheless, coached a talent-depleted roster to five wins that season, which pushed Miami back to the No. 5 selection.
“To attack the integrity of the game, that’s what I felt was happening in that instance, and I wouldn’t stand for it,” Flores said. “I think it hurt my standing within the organization and, ultimately, was the reason why I was let go.”
Flores told CNN later Wednesday morning that Ross explicitly told him about the financial offering to lose that season. Flores’ attorneys say they have “corroborating evidence” and witnesses on that front.
“That’s not something you make up,” Flores said.
He added on ESPN that Ross insisted Flores should take a flight or go on a vacation when his hard work in 2019 ultimately led to five wins in the team’s final nine games.
Flores also alleged that Ross tried to set up a meeting between him and a quarterback during a period of time where it would’ve been considered tampering, an NFL rules violation. He claims that, after refusing the meeting with who sources say was Tom Brady, he was treated with disdain and as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.
Flores was fired on Jan. 10 after three seasons as Miami’s coach in which he went 24-25. The Dolphins parted ways with him despite back-to-back winning seasons of 10-6 in 2020 and 9-8 in 2021.
He said on CNN that the strained relationship with Ross from not taking a tanking incentive and not tampering with another player ultimately led to his firing. Ross said the day he fired Flores that lack of communication and collaboration were contributors to the decision. Flores called it a “smear campaign” on CNN.
Flores began the interview on CBS by detailing what he called a “sham” interview with the New York Giants on Thursday after learning Brian Daboll, who is white, was already the choice for the job via a mistaken text from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, congratulating the wrong Brian that previously worked under him as an assistant.
“It was a range of emotions,” Flores said. “Humiliation, disbelief, anger. I worked so hard to get to where I am in football, to become a head coach.”
Flores said he moved forward with the interview due to “the audacity of hope.” Daboll, the former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator, was hired on Friday.
Wigdor, who said his team reached out to CBS last week over the lawsuit, added: “We knew he wasn’t getting the job. We knew it was a setup. We knew they were just trying to comply with the Rooney Rule.”
Flores indicated the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates, is more so a matter of “checking the box” in the hiring process of a coach rather than giving most a legitimate opportunity. Wigdor noted on ESPN that the NFL has fewer Black head coaches now than when the rule was first instituted in 2003. As of Wednesday morning, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only Black head coach in the league, which also has five current openings, including the Dolphins.
Flores told CNN the way he found out he had no chance at the Giants job he was interviewing for was what ultimately made him move forward in filing the lawsuit.
Flores said he is still in play to coach two teams, but he let both of those teams know he and his attorneys were filing the suit. The two teams are the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, with whom he reportedly completed interviews on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. He said in the lawsuit that he understood moving forward with it would affect his chances of landing one of those jobs.
“I love coaching and want to coach,” he said on CBS. “This is bigger than coaching. This is much bigger than coaching.”
He added on CNN, if he has coached his last NFL game: “If there’s change, it’ll be worth it.”
Even if he lands one of the jobs he’s up for, Flores said he’s not dropping the lawsuit.
“No, we need change,” he said. “This is about changing the hiring practices in the NFL.”
The Dolphins denied allegations in the lawsuit, as did the Giants and the Denver Broncos, who were named for allegedly having executives show up late and hungover for an interview with Flores in 2019, when he was hired by the Dolphins.
Flores’ attorneys indicated they have other Black coaches that have shared similar stories as Flores has experienced and that they expect to come on board in their complaint.
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