Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores set off a firestorm this week when he filed a class-action lawsuit against the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and NFL claiming racist hiring practices.
Flores figured out from an errant text message from his former New England Patriots boss Bill Belichick that the Giants head coaching opening he was about to interview for had actually already been filled Brian Daboll, but just not publicly. Belichick had gotten his “Brians” confused in his cellphone.
At that point, Flores realized his scheduled interview for the Giants job was only for show and to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which mandates that when all 32 teams have head coaching vacancies that at least one of the candidates interviewed must be a minority.
What’s interesting about the lawsuit is the timing. Flores is currently a finalist for the Texans opening. The team confirmed to The Defender on Wednesday that Flores remains a finalist for the job along with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and former NFL journeyman quarterback Josh McCown, who has no significant coaching experience.
Flores has interviewed twice with the Texans, the first time coming the day after David Culley was fired and had his second interview came Monday. Flores is also a candidate for the New Orleans Saints opening.
In most cases, stepping out of the lines of the NFL will lead to a person being unofficially blackballed. But the Texans insist Flores’ status as a finalist has not changed since Jan. 31.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio and Flores have history going back to their days working on the Patriots staff together. Flores was also fairly successful in his three seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach before stunningly being fired at the end of this season after he had the team on the cusp of the playoff.
But we are also finding out this week that there was a serious wedge between Flores and Dolphins owner Stephen Flores. In his lawsuit, Flores is alleging Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019. Flores said he did not comply to throw games which ultimately led to his quick firing after this season.