Flores’ firing was the stunner of Black Monday. But there’s a reason why such a promising coach is available.
Brian Flores was one of the hottest up-and-coming candidates in the NFL three years ago. And he still is. Even after being surprisingly fired by the Dolphins on Monday, Flores’ stock is high. He’s only 40, he spent more than a decade learning under Bill Belichick and he made quick renovations after taking on a major fixer-upper in the Dolphins. Guys like this aren’t usually available, and Flores is one of the most coveted candidates available as a quarter of the league looks for new head coaches. And the Bears had him in the building Friday. Flores’ first interview was at Halas Hall, though the Texans and probably a couple other teams will join the pursuit. That competition could strain the Bears’ desire to hire their general manager first and bring him into the process for choosing a coach. Flores is available immediately, as opposed to current coordinators coaching in the playoffs, so any team ready to make a decision would force the Bears to declare themselves in or out quickly. That would be especially complicated in Flores’ case. He is widely considered to have overachieved considering that the Dolphins opened his tenure by stripping their roster as much as possible to bring in future assets, so why would they send him out the door? Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said, “Key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want,” and given that he retained general manager Chris Grier, it’s pretty obvious those two weren’t collaborating — to borrow the Bears’ favorite word — very well.
