Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores will not be filling out that role for another NFL team in 2022. The Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints both hired new head coaches on Monday, filling the final two vacancies of the cycle.
Flores, 40, filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 teams last week. Said suit claimed systemic racism in the interview process around the league. Despite this, he was still in consideration for both the Texans and Saints’ job.
Once Houston officially named Lovie Smith as its new head coach Monday evening, Flores’ lawyers over at Wigdor Law released a statement. In doing so, the attorneys admitted that the hiring of Smith was a move in the right direction.
However, his reps also pointed to Flores’ candidacy for the job while alleging that their client’s role in the aforementioned lawsuit is the sole reason he was not hired.
“Mr. Flores is happy to hear that the Texans have hired a Black head coach, Lovie Smith, as Mr. Flores’ goal in bringing his case is to provide real opportunities for Black and minority candidates to be considered for coaching and executive positions within the NFL.
However, we would be remiss not to mention that Mr. Flores was one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coach position and, after a great interview and mutual interest, it is obvious that the only reason Mr. Flores was not selected was his decision to stand up against racial inequality across the NFL.”
Statement from Brian Flores’ attorneys (February 7, 2022)
It must be noted that the Texans are one of the 32 teams included in the lawsuit. While they were an unnamed entity in the class-action filing, it’s hard for an organization to hire a head coach that is suing it.
Related: Brian Flores situation and larger-scale impact on the NFL
Brian Flores’ lawsuit, Houston Texans job and what’s next
Houston’s interview process left a whole lot to be desired. After firing former head coach David Culley following just one season, the organization replaced him with his top assistant. Both are black coaches, too, leading to speculation about what happened behind the scenes.
All of this comes with two of the eight head coach hirings of this cycle going to minority head coaches. New Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel identifies as multi-racial. Prior to this, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was the only black individual in the NFL at that position.
It’s all at the root of Flores’ class-action suit against the NFL and its teams.
“NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black Head Coaches, Coordinators and General Managers. Over the years, the NFL and its 32-member organizations (the “Teams”) have been given every chance to do the right thing,” the suit read. “Rules have been implemented, promises made—but nothing has changed. In fact, the racial discrimination has only been made worse by the NFL’s disingenuous commitment to social equity.”
Brian Flores’ class-action suit, filed February 1, 2022
Related: Ranking all eight NFL head coach hirings of 2022
For its part, the NFL has since released a statement acknowledging some race-based issues within the interview process for head coaches and executives around the league.
“Racism and any form of discrimination is contrary to the NFL’s values,” Goodell wrote. “We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas, however we must acknowledge that particularly with respect to head coaches the results have been unacceptable.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Brian Flores lawsuit (February 5, 2022)
This came after the NFL initially indicated that there was no merit to Flores’ lawsuit. It was also met with skepticism from the former Dolphins head coach’s legal team.
The legal process is going to be drawn out in the United States District Court of Southern New York. That’s especially true if other entities join in on the class-action suit. However, there’s a chance that the NFL settles out of court as a way to avoid findings becoming public — much like what it did with Colin Kaepernick years back.
As for Brian Flores and his future in the NFL, the former head coach acknowledges that this lawsuit might lead to him never coaching in the league again.
“If change comes, and I never coach again, it’ll be worth it,” Flores said recently.
At the very least, Flores won’t be a head coach in the NFL this coming season. It also remains highly unlikely that he’ll be hired on as a defensive coordinator with this lawsuit outstanding.