Dolphins firing head coach Brian Flores was Black Monday’s big surprise
Despite winning eight of his final nine games in the 2021 regular season, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was fired by the Miami Dolphins on Monday morning.
“I made a decision today to part ways with Brian Flores,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. “After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins. I believe we have a talented young roster in place and have the opportunity to be much better in 2022. I want to thank Brian for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best in his future.”
Hired by the team on February 4, 2019, Flores, who had worked his way up in the Patriots organization from scouting assistant to pro scout to special teams assistant to defensive assistant to safeties coach to linebackers coach and de facto defensive coordinator, Flores seemed to avoid many of the issues common to former Bill Belichick assistants. He didn’t assume he knew everything because of his professional lineage, and he was successful in creating a culture in an organization that had very little after the disastrous tenure of Adam Gase.
Flores went 5-11 in 2019, his first year with the Dolphins, with a roster very much under construction and Ryan Fitzpatrick as his quarterback. 2020, which was supposed to be the Dolphins’ tanking and rebuilding year, turned into a 10-6 record and near playoff berth, which was the shock of the NFL.
The 2021 Dolphins started the season with a 1-7 record, and Flores could have handled the quarterback situation better with Tua Tagovailoa and Jacoby Brissett. But led by an outstanding defense that he build and coordinated to a great degree in concert with general manager Chris Grier, the Dolphins were able to rattle off a bunch of wins later in the season, including a season-finale win against (and a season sweep of) the Patriots.
Flores concludes his Dolphins tenure with a 24-25 record.
