Topline
Brian Flores—one of football’s only Black head coaches before the Miami Dolphins fired him last month—sued the NFL on Tuesday and accused teams of repeatedly passing him over for jobs, arguing the league is “rife with racism” and “lives in a time of the past.”
Key Facts
Flores’ suit—filed in federal court in New York—lists the NFL and all 32 teams as defendants.
Flores said the NFL has failed to fix a systematic shortage of Black head coaches, and claimed the “Rooney Rule”—a league policy requiring teams to consider minority candidates for certain coaching vacancies—often leads teams to schedule bad-faith “sham” interviews instead of genuinely attempting to hire a diverse staff.
In particular, Flores accused the New York Giants of subjecting him to a fake interview for a vacant head coach position last week, despite already selecting former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for the job, which Flores called a “discriminatory façade designed to show false compliance with the Rooney Rule.”
He alleged a similar encounter with the Denver Broncos three years earlier: Flores says Broncos management showed up to a 2019 job interview an hour late and “completely disheveled,” and it was “clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule.”
He also criticized the Dolphins for firing him despite leading the team through two consecutive winning seasons, and claimed the Dolphins’ owner directed him to purposefully “tank” the team in an effort to secure a more favorable draft position.
Contra
All three teams pushed back against Flores’ allegations in statements to Forbes. The Giants claimed Flores was “in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour,” but the team ultimately selected Daboll based on qualifications. The Broncos called Flores’ claims “blatantly false,” arguing their interview with Flores began on time and team personnel showed a “sincere interest” in him. The Dolphins denied any racial discrimination and said the “implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect.” Meanwhile, the NFL called the claims “without merit” in a statement to ESPN that defended the league’s diversity efforts.
Surprising Fact
Flores says he discovered the Giants had chosen Daboll for the head coach job days before his interview because New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick accidentally sent him a congratulatory text intended for Daboll. According to Flores’ court filing, Belichick texted Flores, “I hear from Buffalo & [the Giants] that you are their guy,” but when Flores asked whether the message was intended for him or Daboll, Belichick responded, “I f***ed this up … I think they are naming Daboll.” Forbes has reached out to the Patriots for comment.
Key Background
The NFL has struggled for decades to increase the number of Black head coaches. Only one of the league’s 32 teams—the Pittsburgh Steelers with Mike Tomlin—is currently led by a Black coach, after Flores and the Houston Texans’ David Culley were fired last month. Black candidates have also been poorly represented in offensive coordinator jobs, which are common stepping stones to head coaching positions. The league aimed to stem this trend in 2003 by introducing the Rooney Rule, but some observers say the policy is inadequate and poorly enforced. In his lawsuit Tuesday, Flores argued the NFL’s shortage of Black leaders is symptomatic of a league that is “racially segregated and is managed much like a plantation,” with white owners and executives managing a roster of predominantly-Black players.
