Brian Flores leaves Patriots to become Dolphins head coach
Fresh off winning Super Bowl 53 with the Patriots, Brian Flores was introduced as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
As expected, the Miami Dolphins officially named Patriots linebackers coach and defensive play-caller Brian Flores as their new head coach on Monday, less than 24 hours after New England concluded their season with a 13-3 Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The hiring was expected, as Flores was the first candidate interviewed for the job after team ownership and management fired Adam Gase on New Year’s Eve. Reportedly, the Dolphins knew that Flores would be their head coach for over three weeks now; they just couldn’t make it official until after the Patriots’ season ended.
Gase was scooped up by the New York Jets not long after he was fired, meaning the Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots all now have head coaches with ties to one another. Only the Buffalo Bills’ Sean McDermott has no other ties within the AFC East.
Flores is the 13th head coach in Miami’s history. He is already tasked with the unenviable job of overseeing a massive culture change and roster rebuild – team owner Stephen Ross admitted as much when to told members of the media that it might take “years” to get the Dolphins back to where they expect to be.
Priority No. 1 has got to be finding a way to topple division nemesis New England, who has maintained a vise-like stranglehold on the AFC East for two decades now. The Dolphins, like the Bills and the Jets, are still trying to find a way to usurp the throne from Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Flores, along with Ross and general manager Chris Grier, must decide this offseason what they intend to do with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has largely underwhelmed in his six healthy seasons as a starter. If the new Dolphins brain trust doesn’t see a role for Tannehill in the organization moving forward, they will need to either turn to the draft or explore trades/free agency.
New England wins Super Bowl 53 over the L.A. Rams. dark. Next
The Patriots won their sixth Super Bowl championship largely thanks to a brilliant gameplan and defensive showing against a very high-octane Rams offense. Flores and Bill Belichick orchestrated one of the most heralded defensive performances in NFL history, holding the Rams to just three points – which tied a Super Bowl record for fewest points allowed.