MIAMI (SNN-TV) – Brian Flores has sued the NFL and three teams, the Dolphins, the Broncos and the Giants, alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing last month by Miami.
The 58-page lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday and seeks class-action status.
Flores claims that when he interviewed for the Giants head coaching position, the team had already decided to hire now-former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The revelation about Daboll came three days before Flores was scheduled to interview with the team.
Flores said that the Giants interview process was a “sham” and he was “humiliated.”
In a text message exchange, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick congratulated Flores for landing the job, thinking he was Daboll.
“Sorry – I f–ked this up,” Belichick allegedly wrote. “I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I’m sorry about that. BB.”
Flores also alleges that prior to getting the Dolphins head coaching gig, he previously interviewed with the Denver Broncos, and claims that then-general manager John Elway showed up to the interview an hour late and appeared to be hungover. Flores claims that he was interviewed for that job because of the Rooney Rule, which is an NFL policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching positions. Flores believes he was never a real candidate for the job.
Flores, who spent three seasons as the head coach of the Dolphins and led the team to back-to-back winning years, was fired at the conclusion of the 2021 NFL regular season. According to the claim, Flores refused his owner’s order to “tank” for the first pick in the draft. During the 2019 season, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross allegedly told Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every loss, and the team’s general manager Chris Grier told Flores that “Steve” was “mad” that Flores was winning games.
According to the claim, following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Ross pressured Flores to recruit a “prominent quarterback” in violation of the league’s tampering rules.
Flores, however, refused to comply with these improper orders. In the winter of 2020, Ross invited Flores onto a yacht for lunch and told him that the “prominent quarterback” was “conveniently” arriving at the marina. Shortly after he arrived, Flores left the meeting and the yacht immediately. Following the incident, Flores was treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.