Steelers' latest offseason loss is actually a win for Mike Tomlin
The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing an important member of the coaching staff as assistant coach Brian Flores is accepting a defensive coordinator position for the Minnesota Vikings. It is a great hire for the Vikings as Flores remains one of the best defensive-minded coaches in the NFL and a great leader of men to have […]
The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing an important member of the coaching staff as assistant coach Brian Flores is accepting a defensive coordinator position for the Minnesota Vikings.
It is a great hire for the Vikings as Flores remains one of the best defensive-minded coaches in the NFL and a great leader of men to have around. His time as head coach with the Miami Dolphins came to a controversial end even though Flores was showing glimpses of success and what could be.
And although we could look at this news as the Steelers losing a coach, in a way, it's a huge win for head coach Mike Tomlin. After all, he didn't bring Flores in with the objective of keeping him around for a long time.
In fact, the Steelers HC knew all along Flores deserved more. During the offseason, he was transparent in his belief that the former Bill Belichick disciple was someone of head-coaching caliber.
Tomlin understood that Flores' lawsuit against the NFL, which accused the league of limiting opportunities for minority coaches, would mean not many decision-makers would want anything to do with the coach.
But the Steelers HC understood the one thing that should matter. Flores is a darn good football coach. Period.
“At the early stages of our interaction, I wouldn’t even have thought of broaching the subject, because I just thought that would have been disrespectful to his talents because I thought this dude is head coach-capable, and they were head jobs available," said Tomlin about hiring Brian Flores to the Steelers coaching staff back in June.
So now that Flores lands in Minnesota as a coordinator – and perhaps a stepping stone to another shot at head coaching later – don't look at it as a true loss for the Steelers.
Rather a win for Flores and Tomlin himself, who did things right and set an example to the NFL while doing it.
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
