Brian Flores lawsuit derailed Dolphins plans to go after Tom Brady
By Mike Luciano
Former New England Patriots assistant Brian Flores, who was fired from his position as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, has been one of the most omnipotent presences hanging over the entire NFL offseason. After his bizarre firing, he filed a lawsuit that alleged racial discrimination in the hiring process and owners incentivizing tanking.
Flores, who has since been hired by the Steelers as the team’s linebackers coach, took aim at owner Stephen Ross, alleging that he wanted Flores to tamper with Brady to convince the former Patriots quarterback to sign with them during the early parts of his tenure.
Ross’s desire to sign Brady hasn’t wavered despite the fact TB12, who hung it up after 22 amazing years, was considering retirement at the time the suit was settled. The master scheme not only involved Brady coming to Miami, but it involved hiring one of the league’s best offensive minds to coach him.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins had a plan to lure Sean Payton away from the Saints and coax Brady to come down to South Beach. This plan was put on hold thanks to the Flores lawsuit, meaning Miami “settled” for 49ers OC Mike McDaniel as their next coach and appear to be ready to run it back with Tua Tagovailoa.
Before the Brian Flores lawsuit was filed, the Dolphins had planned to attempt to finagle a Sean Payton/Tom Brady package deal for 2022. https://t.co/37l1Aq1tiH
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 28, 2022
Brian Flores said the Dolphins wanted Tom Brady, Sean Payton
With Brady having his mind made up on retirement and Payton looking to either relax at home or go into TV, this plan was doomed from the start. Did anyone think Brady was going to wear a Dolphins jersey?
Even if Flores was a bit uneasy about the quarterback situation due to conflicting reports about his confidence in Tagovailoa, Ross deciding to fire him and try to pull off a plan with an infinitesimal chance of success should strike plenty around the league as odd.
This goes to show how dysfunctional the Dolphins are at the moment. Not only did they create such a toxic environment that they made Flores sue both the club and the league in a class-action suit, but their grand plan to replace him was to convince a 45-year-old quarterback and a guy who had coached for 15 straight years to unretire.
Dolphins planned to pursue both Sean Payton and Tom Brady earlier this offseason https://t.co/IOIsR89wD8
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 28, 2022
Flores is exposing how one of New England’s chief division rivals is continuously grasping at straws to remain a competitive team.
At least Flores has managed to land on his feet elsewhere while the pressure is still on for Ross and a Miami team that may seem a tad rudderless.
