Despite being in the midst of a lawsuit against the National Football League and three NFL teams, Brian Flores was officially named as the Pittsburgh Steelers new senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach on Saturday afternoon.
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin told Steelers.com. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
Flores worked as the head coach for the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021, but was let go at the conclusion of the campaign after the team missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record. They have failed to make the postseason for the last five consecutive seasons and the franchise felt it was time to make a change. Flores finished with a winning record in his final two seasons with the Dolphins, but it still wasn’t enough to get them to the playoffs.
Flores has a plethora of experience coaching in the NFL, having spent time with the New England Patriots as their defensive play caller prior to his time in Miami. However, the 40-year-old recently filed a lawsuit against the NFL, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos. The veteran is alleging discrimination during the interview process with the Giants and Broncos, as well as in his firing by the Dolphins.
One of the allegations in his lawsuit against Miami is that team owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for every loss in 2019. The team was looking to tank in order to acquire a top draft pick that could be used to select a franchise quarterback. The Dolphins finished the 2019 campaign with a 5-11 record and selected quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Flores also went on to allege that he was only interviewed for the New York Giants’ head coaching vacancy because of the Rooney Rule, which ensures each team interviews at least one minority candidate. He has since submitted a text message from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick congratulating him on the job, despite not yet being interviewed for it. The text was inadvertently sent to Flores instead of Brian Daboll who was named as the team’s new head coach shortly after.
“While Coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL,” said Flores’ lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor, via ESPN.
It remains to be seen what the result of Flores’ multiple lawsuits will be, but it is nice to see that he was still able to find another position in the NFL despite the allegations he has made. However, the Steelers have undoubtedly improved their coaching staff by adding a veteran who knows the league well and what it takes to win, considering he has four Super Bowl rings from his time in New England.
