While answering questions about the decision to fire Jerod Mayo after the Patriots season finale game against the Bills, owner Robert Kraft made it very clear he intended to start the search for the next head and hire him as soon as possible. He followed through with that by scheduling interviews throughout the week, seemingly concluding the process with a virtual interview with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Friday morning.
There were some suggestions that the Krafts should add another name to their list, especially since Aaron Glenn rejected their offer for an interview, and bring in another familiar face hoping to be a head coach once again.
Brian Flores has spent the last two years with the Vikings as their defensive coordinator and has become a highly regarded coach in the years since the Dolphins let him go as their head coach. He is expected to interview for some of the vacancies this offseason, but the Patriots won't be one of them.
That decision has been met with some frustration from fans, but the latest intel regarding his first stint in the role sheds light on some of the reasons he might have failed in Miami, and it's not the kind of shift the Patriots need any time soon.
Brian Flores' fall with the Dolphins could be what's to come if the Patriots hired him
Because of his experience as a player on the Dolphins during Flores' tenure, retired quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick gave his input on what went wrong with his first stint as a head coach.
During an episode of the "Fitz and Whit" podcast in December, Fitzpatrick was complimentary of how things were at the beginning of Flores' tenure but shared just how much it changed as time went on.
“He was likable. He was relatable. He demanded a lot out of the players, but he was also able to get the best version of his players. I really appreciated him for that. But as his tenure went on in Miami, he kind of became unrecognizable.
... Instead of having the humility to ask questions, to collaborate. I think, by the end of his time there, he became a dictator.”
This sounds a bit similar to how poorly Josh McDaniels was viewed when he became the head coach of the Broncos and the Raiders years apart, which is not something the Patriots need in hopes of dramatically turning the franchise around.
While demanding a lot of the players and getting the best version of them would be welcomed changes after this past year, hearing that Flores became a "dictator" is likely what got him booted in the end. It also didn't help to be butting heads with the owner over the quarterback, which likely wouldn't be a problem in New England, but the point remains the same.
It's entirely possible that Flores has learned from his previous mistakes and would do what he could not to replicate what happened in his first chance as a head coach, so the concerns about hiring him wouldn't be valid. But at the same time, plenty of coaches over the years have been given second chances and proved to be not much different than the first time around, McDaniels being one of the more familiar examples.
Because of that, the Patriots seem to have made a good decision not to interview Flores this time around and narrow their focus to Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel.