Steelers hire Brian Flores as senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach
Brian Flores has found a new home. After a three-year stint as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins where he compiled a 24-25 record, Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as their senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach on Saturday. Flores started his career with the New England Patriots and spent four years […]
Brian Flores has found a new home.
After a three-year stint as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins where he compiled a 24-25 record, Flores was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as their senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach on Saturday.
Flores started his career with the New England Patriots and spent four years as a scouting assistant/pro scout (2004-2007). He spent time as their special teams assistant (2008-2009) and assistant offense and special teams coach (2010) before he began getting experience in his current roles with the Steelers.
In 2011, Flores became the Patriots' defensive assistant. After four years as their safeties coach, he took on the role of linebackers coach for three seasons before going to the Dolphins.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who is entering his 16th season as the head man in Pittsburgh, welcomed Flores with open arms.
"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," Tomlin said. "Brian's resumé speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."
Flores will take over for Teryl Austin as Pittsburgh's senior defensive assistant after Austin was promoted to the defensive coordinator position. When it comes to his linebackers coach role, he will work side-by-side with Jerry Olsavsky who has served as the Steelers' inside linebackers coach since 2015.
The newest member of the Steelers staff set the NFL landscape on fire after he was relieved of his duties in Miami. Flores filed a 58-page lawsuit against the NFL and the New York Giants, Dolphins, and Denver Broncos earlier this month claiming there was discrimination in the interview process with New York and Denver as well as his firing with the Dolphins.
The details of the lawsuit by Flores were shocking. He claims that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 for every game the team lost in 2019 so that they could receive a higher draft pick, but it didn't end there.
Flores interviewed for the Broncos head coaching vacancy in 2019. He said the Broncos only met with him to fulfill the Rooney Rule, which ironically was named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney.
The rule requires all teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations positions.
The 19-year coaching veteran claims that Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who played his entire 16-year career with the Broncos and currently serves as the organization's president of football operations, along with CEO Joe Ellis and others arrived an hour late to the interview and appeared "disheveled" and that it was apparent that they had been out drinking the night before.
Elway vehemently denied the claim by Flores.
It gets spicier though. Flores received a text message from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in which he congratulated him on getting the job as the head coach of the New York Giants. However, the text was intended for Brian Daboll who was named the Giants' new headman in late January.
Belichick apologized to Flores for the error, but obviously, it didn't sit well with him.
Although the desire for Brian Flores is to be a head coach, which is unlikely to happen after this incident, he's back in the NFL.
Featured image via-Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
