Flores hasn't spoken to Belichick since that text. What else to know from 'Real Sports'
For Brian Flores, it appears a return to New England was never in the cards.
The former Patriots defensive play caller and former head coach of the Miami Dolphins sat down with Bryant Gumbel for the HBO show "Real Sports." Flores is currently entrenched in a bombshell lawsuit against the NFL alleging systematic racism. In the lawsuit, which has been made public, Flores shared a text message exchange with Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Three days before Flores was set to interview with the New York Giants for their vacant head coaching position, Belichick sent a text to his former assistant saying he talked to people from Buffalo and congratulated him on getting the job. Belichick, however, meant to text Brian Daboll, who the Giants ended up hiring.
Flores didn’t get any of the head coaching jobs he interviewed for this offseason (Houston, New Orleans and Buffalo) and also alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him money to lose games while he was coaching the Dolphins.
Although some wondered whether the Patriots would bring Flores — who was a very well-liked defensive coach in New England — back to town, he ended up taking a job with Pittsburgh as the Steelers linebackers coach. He revealed to Gumbel that he hasn’t talked to Belichick since making their text exchange public.
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What Brian Flores said to Bryant Gumbel
Here’s their exchange:
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Some members of the Boston media were beating the drum for you to go back to the Patriots. Was that ever in play?”
BRIAN FLORES: “No. I didn't talk to anyone from New England.”
GUMBEL: “Since that now-infamous text exchange with Bill Belichick, have you spoken with him?”
FLORES: “I have not. I have not.”
GUMBEL: “Have you tried to?”
FLORES: “No. I haven't."
GUMBEL: “Do you expect to?”
FLORES: “I mean there's potential that we could — we could run into each other. I mean I'd be open to a conversation. But, no, I-- I-- I-- well, if that-- if that-- we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
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Due to Belichick’s text message, Flores says the Giants only interviewed him just to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule (which requires teams to interview a minority candidate for open head-coaching jobs). In the lawsuit, Flores, who was fired after three seasons in Miami, said Ross, the Dolphins owner, also tried to get him to tamper with a quarterback during the offseason in 2020. According to The Palm Beach Post, that quarterback was Tom Brady.
Flores was in New England from 2004-2018. He worked his way up from a scouting assistant to the defensive play caller for the Patriots Super Bowl LIII championship. That game saw Flores’ defense hold the Los Angeles Rams to just three points. That was the most dominant defensive effort in Super Bowl history with the Patriots setting multiple Super Bowl records including fewest points scored (three), fewest touchdowns scored (zero) and most consecutive drives ending with a punt (eight).
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Flores also worked as the Patriots linebackers and safeties coach. After the Patriots defense struggled in their wildcard loss to Buffalo, many wondered if Belichick would hire Flores back to help the defense in 2022.
After the public text exchange and lawsuit, however, it doesn’t seem like Flores and Belichick are currently on speaking terms.
Flores also appeared on the I AM ATHLETE podcast on YouTube, where he said he’s “not mad” at Belichick.
"I'm not mad. I mean, Bill did what a lot of us [have done]. He sent a text message to the wrong person. I'm certainly guilty of that before," Flores said. "To me, I thought it was specific to the lawsuit in that it confirmed a lot of things that I thought were going on, that I think a lot of Black and minority coaches think are going on. It kind of confirmed it for me.
"As far as having a fair and equal opportunity to go and interview and show your acumen, show your intelligence, show your ability to lead, show your willingness and your leadership. Oftentimes, it's not a fair and equal playing field."
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots: Brian Flores talks about Bill Belichick on Real Sports
