'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is out of Miami, but reports are still trickling in regarding the tenuous situation Flores and company dealt with during his tenure.
Despite narrowly guiding the team to the playoffs after going through a seven-game winning streak following a seven-game losing streak, Flores is now presumably looking for a new head coaching gig. His relationship with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa might have been the rockiest relationship in the locker room.
NFL insider Michael Lombardi reported that Flores apparently told Tagovailoa that he was more impressed with another former Alabama quarterback, Mac Jones. Lombardi also pondered what the next potential head coach hire might pitch to the current Dolphins GM:
“If you’re really honest are you going to sit there and say I can build a team around Tua? That’s what Ross wants to hear. That’s what Brian Flores wouldn’t say. We’ve seen all the conversations that Flores basically had with Tua, where Flores told Tua at halftime of the Tennessee game ... I don’t think Flores was shy about telling him, hey, I should have picked Mac Jones. I don’t think he was shy about telling him that. In fact, I know that he wasn’t.”
Why Brian Flores' remarks about Tua Tagovailoa are unusual
The logistics of Flores’s comment are curious: Brian Flores had only coached the Dolphins for three seasons (2019-2021), and Miami drafted Tagovailoa No. 5 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, while Mac Jones was drafted by the New England Patriots a year later at the No. 15 spot.
In the 2021 draft, Miami had the No. 6 overall pick, which they used to draft wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Of course, Miami could have drafted Mac Jones at No. 6 ahead of New England, but that also meant that they would have had to fully commit to jettisoning Tagovailoa as their starter after he only played half a season in his 2020 rookie year due to injury.
It’s atypical for a franchise to draft two top ten quarterbacks in consecutive drafts if both are not injured or unavailable to play. The Dolphins are not a typical football franchise, however, and even Brian Flores’s firing was met with skepticism.
As it stands, Miami will be looking for a new head coach while Tua Tagovailoa will be looking to retain his starting job.
