As many times as I pointed out Brian Flores’s flaws, I also spent a lot of time and wrote several articles about continuity.
2022 was supposed to be the first year in a long, long while for the Dolphins to come to camp knowing the playbook on both sides of the ball. No more “learning a new system.” No more, “Getting to know what the coaches want.” Now, it is all gone. Again.
I won’t be a hypocrite. I have called Brian Flores unqualified and I’ve pointed out plenty of his wrong decisions. But after two winning seasons in a row, his good and his potential far outweighed the bad. He is indeed qualified. I stand corrected. He is qualified, but he is also unemployed. Thanks to Stephen Ross.
Obviously, all us media, and fans, and most important the players themselves need time to assess this news. But in my view, the timing is horrible. Ross gave extensions to underperforming Joey Philbin and Arrogant Adam Gase, and Flores seemed to be a stronger coach than his two bozo predecessors.
Is this Stephen Ross meddling once again? Is he tampering with success? Or is he finally stating that he will not tolerate mediocrity? Either way, his timing his poor.
I can only speculate about some internal tension. Perhaps Flores (correctly) stood up to Ross and said “I don’t want DeShaun Watson in my locker room.” Or perhaps some smart football guys who Ross trusts got to him. Or maybe Jim Harbaugh is finally ready to come to Miami. It could very well be that. I think Flores’s coaching decisions cost us the Raider game and most certainly the Jaguar game. Without Flores’s mistakes, were an 11-6 team, and more likely 12-5. Does Ross have that kind of football analysis in his head? Probably not. It’s hard to speculate.
There will be time to assess our newest need: head coach. But for now, I’ll just say that I woulda stuck with Flores. Ross’s timing is horrible, as usual. And now, my recent column about our 2022 continuity is tossed out the window.
Admin, Flores DOES NOT deserve to be fired! He has made errors and he’s not perfect; the team isn’t perfect. But, Flores has gotten this team to physically “play” football again; to mentally “play” football again. I have seen these players develop themselves under Flores and we haven’t seen that in many years.
So Ross the Owner, who knows virtually nothing about football, fires the coach who has brought this team along that could have possibly been in the playoffs? Because why exactly??? The moron GM and draft the wrong players! (Exception Waddle). This firing has just burned my fandom!!!
This team is now starting all over again….what C list HC will want to coach here? Bec that’s all that will even consider coming here and dealing with a moron owner like Ross!.
Yes, the more I’m reading about this from all over, the more I think Flores deserved (AND EARNED) more time. It’s so hard to get into Ross’s head. WTF was he thinking?
Like you said (and me too), Flores made some mistakes of course, but man that defense played their asses off for him.
Shocked as well. I have also criticized Flores and think that his lack of preparation cost Miami 7 losses in a row but you cant escape the fact that they won 8 of 9 to finish the season and the only loss was to the number 1 team in the AFC. Was Flores learning? sure, but this indicates the ability to adjust and with an 8-1 record, I think this was premature. The only way this is justified, is if there was a problem between Ross and Flores or if it was a mutual departure.
Really hard to say as I wanted continuity as well although not happy with some of the decisions made this season which cost them games. I’m hearing that Ross didn’t feel that everyone was working together and possibly not on the same page. If there was infighting or they couldn’t agree on things I get it as that doesn’t work. Perhaps they feel that the D is fine but the offense isn’t coming together so they want an offensive minded coach now. Maybe Flo didn’t want a strong OC in the building that he couldn’t control. Who knows but it’s something that created a rift. Cowherd made a point that with the new rules the majority of the division winning coaches are offensive minded. Could this be a good thing now that the D seems to be there while the O needs help? I guess we will see. I’m not buying that Harbaugh isn’t on the radar. I could see him resign first then he’d be fair game meanwhile all along Ross had him. ..
It’s hard to know what is going on behind the scenes and what “wasn’t working” but to me the most frustrating thing is Ross already said Grier would be remaining with the team. I’m really torn on the Flores decision so I need to think on it more before voicing an opinion, but Grier NEEDS TO GO. We wasted so many of the high picks especially in the draft with Tua, Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene. Hindsight is always 20/20 but even at the time everyone knew Jackson and Noah were reaches at those spots. How much would you love to go back and trade either of those for Jonathan Taylor for example?
And at the risk of sounding like a broken record…. I said it before the draft and just about every day since…. we should have taken Herbert over Tua. Sorry not sorry.
The only thing that I can fathom that will allow Grier to keep his job is the claim that his draft picks were good ones but were not being deveolped properly by Flores. Is this true? I dont know but others were developing, like Phillips and Holland. And the O-line did show improved play over the last month and a half.
I don’t think the O-line was improving as much as they were scheming ways to minimize the impact of their deficiencies with all the short quick passes. But I do think the lack of development in certain units does speak to the questionable staff hiring that Flores is ultimately responsible for. They did draft way too many OL with higher picks… that at least a couple of them should have developed into competent starters at least.
I agree Mike some units especially on offense simply didn’t improve enough throughout the year. I could see there being a disagreement in how to resolve it. The D definitely improved but you can’t win with zero O. I was willing to give it one more year with hopes that they could fill the holes but what if the hole was poor coaching? You can’t keep spinning your wheels drafting another 2-3 oline that continue to fail. Some of these guys have to pan out no?
Yeah the offense showed signs of life, but ONLY AFTER starting 1-7 did Flores change things up (schemed for quick passes). Why not recognize that need in week 3 or 4, not Week 9?
Also, as nice as the win felt yesterday, remember their offense beat us 24-20. Take away 13 gift points from our defense, and we lost another one.
Ross needs to go. Not only did he fire Flores and keep Grier but he said he wouldn’t take Harbaugh “away” from Michigan. Can you imagine that, the owner doesn’t want someone he thinks will be great for the team because he’s at the school he went to.
Heh… yeah… but hard to fire an owner. At this point you have to hope through dumb luck more than skill he hires a miracle worker for the next coach because they need one.
I said this from day one: The Dolphins are Ross’s third favorite team behind Michigan and the Jets (he was a lifetime Jets fan in NY City, where he still lives).
Might as well start this now: Rex Ryan? Doug Pederson? Dan Marino? Adam Gase #2? Todd Bowles #2? Matt Nagy?
The only name that actually intrigues me is Kellen Moore from Dallas. But that kind of hire is a roll of the dice… could be the next Sean McVay or the next Joe Philbin? I think closer to McVay but still…. Rex Ryan is intriguing but I feel like he has a proven ceiling. He can make your team better but isn’t taking you to the super bowl.
I’d go offensive coach Pederson as the O needs help and he could get it done. Super Bowl winner too. He’d fix the oline as he did with the Eagles. They just need to be able to deal with him but I’d do it.
And former Dolphin. And a guy who learned under Shula and one of only two men to beat Belichick in a Super Bowl. Nice pedigree if you ask me.
I don’t think promoting a coordinator to Head Coach is wise. Not after 3 failed attempts already. It’s been a decade of hearing these guys say that it’s a learning process. Get someone who has already learned.
Want Dan Quinn from Dallas. He has built great defenses everywhere he has gone and has lead teams to the tops of the conference.
He also blew a 28-3 lead as a head coach of the falcons in the Super Bowl. LOL. No, seriously, I don’t blame Quinn for that loss.
No, its worth considering but he has also taken a mediocre Dallas defense and transformed them into a league best. And he has head coaching experience, which is a most important characteristic for the next head coach (in my opinion) and one that Ross has never considered important.
I don’t blame Quinn but they need offense. Pedersen would be my guy. They need experience and someone who has won.
Well I would take Quinn and I’m taking my ball and going home, HA!!!!
There’s gotta be something to this “communication” thing that Ross was harping on when talking about why he fired Flores. Coaches are not fired for miscommunicating with the GM. Like Flores didn’t answer a text from Grier in time so he’s fired? Makes no sense. Sounds, to me, like Flores refused to take direction from Grier. But what direction could Grier possibly be telling him?
I don’t know why the world of an NFL office is so secretive. Why can’t one party just come out and say what really happened.
It effects their potential future contract negoitions and reputation. Who wants to admit that they cant or wont communicate with other members of the organization. This looks childish and unprofessional.
Admin, UMich IS Ross’s #1 team! He’s given millions to that school, so much millions that they named the business school, Stephen B. Ross School of Business after him…that tells a lot!!! And he loves, loves, loves Harbaugh! Then the guy was a Jets fan…HOW can this team succeed with an owner who doesn’t (unadmittedly for obvious reasons) hate the Jets!?? As we all know, our Fin fandom doesn’t just leave us! Why would his Jets fandom be any different. But my main issue is Ross IS NOT THE RIGHT OWNER FOR THIS TEAM! or any team for that matter…he’s a real estate guy! Stick with what you know. The communication decoy reason for firing Flores that Ross is throwing out there is annoying…just be honest about whatever it is. I hope the fans get the real lowdown on Ross’s decision bec he has a lot of “esplaining” to du!
I’ve been saying it for years: As long as that comatose blind goober owns this team, he will hold us fans hostage and this franchise will not go anywhere. It all starts at the top and Ross is 100% for the mediocrity and failure since he bought the Dolphins. He is the worst kind of owner…apathetic and doesn’t really care since this team is his hobby. Losses and embarrassment don’t bother him. I’ll close with this: The best coach we have had in the last 20 years just got fired BECAUSE he couldn’t get along with a terrible GM. Flores is 100 times better at his job than Grier is at his…yet Grier gets to stay and Flores is fired. What? How does that work? We’ve had 3 winning records in the last 15+ years and Flores has 2 of them. Grier has been with the team for 15 years picking the wrong players, so let’s keep him around! (Sarcasm Font).
pretty much on the money.
Amen to that. I’ve been crying for Grier to be replaced for several months now. I’ve been a Dolphin fan all my life but they make it damn hard sometimes. I see so many other organizations figure it out and take steps to at least be competitive again… we are just mired in mediocrity year after friggin year and it starts with drafting the right players, putting them in the right position/situation to succeed, and development. And in my opinion we consistently fail at all three.
“We’ve had 3 winning records in the last 15+ years and Flores has 2 of them.”
Hard to argue with FACTS like that.
I have not seen one positive take on this. Every single writer and NFL analyst is shocked. The Dolphins players are all over social media hating this. Granted, the players cannot go on Twitter and say, “Great. that jerk Flores is gone!” But their sadness today seems genuine. It takes a lot of heart away from you today. The guys just yesterday prevented the Pats from moving up the ladder and we ended with a really cool touchdown. So much enthusiasm and getting ready for next year…but now, that enthusiasm is 100% gone.
I get all of that but at the same time he never got the offense on track. You can’t win without some O. Quite possibly the oline needed better coaching. From what I’m hearing Flo didn’t want to make changes even though it probably warranted them. I wanted some consistency too but for instance at least one of those OC’s should have been fired for the up and down playcalling. If Flo couldn’t or wouldn’t do it then ultimately it falls on the HC. It is too bad as I felt that they were getting close but I guess in todays NFL you can’t settle for no playoffs for this many years…
I think ultimately his (in)ability to build his staff was his ultimate demise. Co-OC’s? Did anyone think that would work? The OL coaches failed to develop a single player on the OL. He took some weird gambles on coaches to fill out his staff. The only one I feel like deserves a shot to retain his position is Josh Boyer but I am sure the next coach will clean house so we’ll have to see what happens.
Yes, and we’ll never know. Maybe Grier “ordered” Flores to fire one of those OCs or something like that. When Flores refused, they said, “Okay, it’s your funeral.” Sooooo many rumors out there. After the initial shock has worn off, people are mow saying that Flores was hard to get along with. Does that mean he didn’t get along with the players or the front office? Rumors don’t explain anything!
For what it’s worth, there is speculation now that Flores wanted to bring in Watson, and Grier/Ross did not cave in and make that deal as Flores desired. Who knows how much of that is true?
Even today, Ross did not give Tua any confidence. Ross said that the new coach will decide Tua’s fate. Ross could have said, “This kid is our quarterback, and I will hire a new head coach who will work with Tua.” Instead Ross left it open for a new guy to cut or trade Tua.
Sam Wyche the old Bengals coach used to say that coaches getting fired is often nothing to do with their football record and coaching ability. Meaning that personality and collaboration (or lack thereof) have a lot to do with it.
David Hyde at the Sun Sentinel reported that Tua and Flores got into a heated, shouting argument at halftime in the Titans game. Perhaps Tua politely suggested that they hand the ball off more, since Duke Johnson was gashing them for 9 yards per carry. Who knows?
This is the big rumor and common talking point among many Dolphin blogs that Flores did not get along with anyone in the organization and his failure to assemble and maintain a consistent staff killed this team.
Seems like a common problem from ex belicheat staff.
I see Daboll is on the list. Used to be the OC here decade ago any thoughts? I think I’d still prefer a proven coach this time.
Let’s look at the past few HC choices by owner, Capt. Brilliant: Gase (offensive “guru”); Philbin (supposedly an “offensive minded coach”); I liked Campbell but he was shipped out to Houston. Then Bowles was promoted, that didn’t work; Sparano got the Ross royal treatment saying he’s our HC, but oops, Ross f’d that up talking to another HC. Ross clearly does NOT know anything about football! Then let’s cap it off with retaining Grier cuz he’s so great! An organization built for success!