Brian Flores NFL lawsuit: Live updates, news as former Dolphins coach files discrimination suit, signs with Steelers (2024)

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit on Feb. 1 against the NFL and all 32 teams, alleging racial discrimination in hiring processes across the league. In the suit, Flores specifically named the Dolphins, the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos and cited text messages between himself and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

In the suit, Flores alleges that text messages sent to him by Bill Belichick, while the Patriots head coach mistakenly believed he was messaging Brian Daboll, show that Daboll had already secured the Giants' head-coaching job, three days before Flores interviewed for the position. Flores contends that his interview with the Giants — along with an interview he had in 2019 with the Broncos — was a sham.

The NFL released a statement saying the claims "are without merit." The Giants said in a statement they are "pleased and confident" with how their hiring process went. The Patriots declined to comment on the situation.

The suit also alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 for each of the team's losses in 2019, in hopes of improving Miami's draft position in 2020. It also alleges that Ross urged Flores to tamper with a prominent quarterback and, after Flores refused to do so, set up an impromptu meeting between Flores and the quarterback.

Flores, who interviewed for the Saints', Bears' and Texans' head-coaching jobs, said in a statement, "I understand that I may be risking coaching the game that I love and has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing against the systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

On Feb. 19, Flores was hired by the Steelers to be their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.

• Read Alicia Jessop's legal analysis of Flores' lawsuit.
• Read Stephen Holder's column on how the lawsuit underlines the limitations of the Rooney Rule.
• Listen to Robert Mays and Lindsay Jones discussing the lawsuit on "The Athletic Football Show."

(Photo: Rich Barnes / USA Today)

Current Steelers assistant and former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores and his attorneys told HBO's "Real Sports" he turned down “millions of dollars” when he declined to sign a non-disparagement agreement when the Dolphins fired him.

“I think, you know, just signing that, you know, separation agreement would have — really silenced me,” Flores said.

The Dolphins released a statement calling Flores' latest accusations unfounded.

Big news out of Pittsburgh, where the Steelers have hired Brian Flores as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.

Statement from Douglas H. Wigdor (Wigdor LLP) and John Elefterakis (Elefterakis, Elefterakis & Panek) in response to the Houston Texans’ announcement that it has hired Lovie Smith as its new head coach:

“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.”

In a memo obtained by The Athletic to chief executives and team presidents, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell states the league is retaining outside experts to independently reevaluate and review its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. It is Goodell's first response in light of the Brian Flores allegations and lawsuit.

The memo reads: “I want to address a subject that many of us have discussed together, not only this week, but consistently for many years.

"Racism and any form of discrimination is contrary to the NFL’s values. 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. We will reevaluate and examine all policies, guidelines and initiatives relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, including as they relate to gender. We are retaining outside experts to assist in this review and will also solicit input from current and former players and coaches, advocates and other authorities in this area. Our goal is simple: make our efforts and those of the clubs more effective so that real and tangible results will be achieved.

"We understand the concerns expressed by Coach Flores and others this week. While the legal process moves forward, we will not wait to reassess and modify our strategies to ensure that they are consistent with our values and longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In particular, we recognize the need to understand the lived experiences of diverse members of the NFL family to ensure that everyone has access to opportunity and is treated with respect and dignity.

"We also take seriously any issue relating to the integrity of NFL games. These matters will be reviewed thoroughly and independently. We expect that these independent experts will receive full cooperation from everyone associated with the league or any member club as this work proceeds.

"There is much work to do, and we will embrace this moment and seize the opportunity to become a stronger, more inclusive league.”

When the Texans brought in general manager Nick Caserio to clean up Bill O’Brien’s mess, hiring yet another person with New England ties was so unpopular that team chairman and CEO Cal McNair felt the need to say his team did not consider itself the “Patriots South.”

A year later, some Texans fans might now hope the franchise leans into the identity.

With former Dolphins head coach and Patriots assistant Brian Flores remaining as one of three finalists for the Texans’ head coaching job, completing a New England triumvirate with Caserio and executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby appears to be the most popular move the Texans could make.

Read more below:

Next week in Los Angeles during the buildup to the Super Bowl, the NFL is hosting at least three events dedicated to DEI. It includes one for RISE, the social justice advocacy group funded by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Goodell will speak at another event, and the NFL is launching its inaugural “A Look Into the Future” DEI breakfast, described as “centered around three separate panels designed to open intentional discussions on how the league is driving change, creating impact and ultimately becoming ‘Stronger Together.'”

The image of a league dedicated to changing and investing the resources in DEI is a stark contrast to the NFL universe outlined in former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ blistering discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, his former team and two clubs that did not hire him, the Giants and Broncos. The league is depicted in the lawsuit as gripped by racism and sliding backward.

And it’s hard to escape that the NFL has no more Black head coaches than the day the Los Angeles Raiders in 1988 hired Art Shell as the league’s first Black head coach. Or no more than on the day two decades ago the NFL implemented the Rooney Rule, the much-heralded policy that required teams to interview minority candidates for head-coaching positions, and then expanded to include other senior jobs from coordinators to team presidents.

Read the full story below:

Regarding the team's interest in and communication with Brian Flores, the Giants said:

"John Mara called Mr. Flores two days after he was dismissed in Miami. Mr. Mara expressed to Mr. Flores in that January 12 call that once we had our new general manager in place, we would begin the process of hiring our head coach and we wanted to meet with Mr. Flores because we considered him a serious candidate for the position. Mr. Mara and Mr. Flores then had their first formal conversation in a 25-30 minute zoom call on January 18 (at Mr. Flores' request) to further discuss his candidacy.

"In between those initial conversations and Mr. Flores' in-person interview on January 27, there were several other communications between Mr. Flores and members of our organization. This included a dinner with our newly hired general manager, Joe Schoen, the night before Mr. Flores's in-person interview. The consensus from within the Giants organization after this dinner remained that Mr. Flores was an outstanding candidate, and we looked forward to sitting down with him in person the next day.

"Our hiring process and, most certainly, our consideration of Mr. Flores was serious and genuine. We are disappointed to learn that Mr. Flores was under the mistaken impression the job had already been awarded."

Two days after saying in a statement they were "pleased and confident" in their hiring process, the Giants released a more detailed statement Thursday.

"The allegation that the Giants' decision had been made prior to Friday evening, January 28, is false," reads one section of the statement. "And to base that allegation on a text exchange with Bill Belichick in which he ultimately states that he 'thinks' Brian Daboll would get the job is irresponsible. The text exchange occurred the day before Coach Daboll's in-person interview even took place. Giants' ownership would never hire a head coach based only on a 20-minute zoom interview, which is all that Mr. Daboll had at that point.

"In addition, Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants. Mr. Belichick's text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search."

The statement added details about the team's communication with Flores during the process and its decision-making process.

The Broncos' president of football operations and former general manager released a statement Thursday, calling Brian Flores' allegations against him "unfortunate and shocking."

“I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head-coaching position in 2019," Elway said.

In response to Flores' allegation that Elway and Broncos officials appeared "completely disheveled" and as if they had been "drinking heavily" the night before, Elway said he and the officials had flown in the middle of the night following another head-coaching interview the day before and were operating on a few hours of sleep.

The NFL will investigate former Dolphins coach Brian Flores' allegations that Miami owner Stephen Ross offered him an incentive of $100,000 per loss during the 2019 season, according to reports. ESPN first reported the investigation would take place.

Flores made the allegation Tuesday within his 58-page class action discrimination complaint against the league, the Dolphins and every other team.

Ross released a statement on Wednesday defending himself and the team.

“With regards to the allegations being made by Brian Flores, I am a man of honor and integrity and cannot let them stand without responding. I take great personal exception to these malicious attacks, and the truth must be known. His allegations are false, malicious and defamatory," Ross said.

For the full story, click here.

Challenging the social construct all too often comes with a cost, and Brian Flores seems prepared for how this may very well end for him. His name will be synonymous with the lawsuit that leveled accusations of systemic racism in the NFL’s hiring process, and he could be blackballed from ever coaching in the league again.

It isn’t hard to imagine that result. All Flores has to do is look at Colin Kaepernick, who hasn’t played quarterback in the NFL since 2016, when he began a social justice movement among players across the league. Kaepernick was capable of playing quarterback in the years since his exile began, and Flores is certainly qualified to coach an NFL team now and into the future.

He is just 40 years old, fired by the Dolphins last month despite coaching them to a winning record (although not the playoffs) in each of the last two seasons and helping orchestrate a rebuild after arriving in 2019. He won four Super Bowl rings as a scout or an assistant coach in New England, including as the team’s de facto defensive coordinator in 2018. He was eminently qualified to be hired as a head coach in 2019, and he remains so now.

But what Flores did in filing his class-action lawsuit was elevate the next generation of minority coaches above himself.

“This isn’t about me. This is bigger than football,” Flores said in an interview on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “This is about equal opportunity for qualified Black candidates, not just in football, but everywhere.”

Read the full column below:

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ law firm, Wigdor LLP, is no stranger to high-profile cases of alleged acts taken by the powerful against underlings.

It represented the hotel maid who accused prospective French president Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape; accusers of Harvey Weinstein; former New York Knick Charles Oakley in his suit against MSG over his forceful ejection from the arena; and women who alleged sexual harassment while at Fox News. So Wigdor views Flores’ allegations of racism in NFL hiring practices, contained in the explosive lawsuit filed Tuesday, as keeping with these and other cases.

The Athletic spoke with Wigdor partner David Gottlieb, who said he expects another person to join the suit in weeks if not days; that Flores still considers himself a candidate for the head coach openings in Houston and New Orleans; and that it may be time to scrap the Rooney Rule.

“I did interview with the Carolina Panthers before John Fox got the job and I can recall that we had lost to the Steelers in the second round of the playoffs and I remember sitting home on Monday and I think it was Chris Mortensen or something reporting that Foxy would be named the head coach of the Panthers on Friday," Lewis said in an appearance on ESPN Wednesday. "And when I went to work Tuesday, Brian (Billick) came in and said ‘Hey I just got off the phone … and the Panthers want you to come down and interview for the job.’ I said ‘Coach, I just heard last night on TV that they’re going to name Foxy the coach on Friday.’

"And … I end up going down to Charlotte and so forth and meeting with the (Jerry) Richardson family and they said that wasn’t true and so forth, and then they named John the head coach on Friday. So I don’t know. Again, that’s a situation I was in but you have to go, you have to go and prove that you’re worthy to become the head coach. And it’s, you’re appreciative of the opportunity but what was supposedly going to happen ended up happening in that case for sure.”

Lewis added “The thing to me is we have not had progress, despite the Rooney Rule. There has not been progress, there has been regression. These young minority coaches come in my office here at ASU and say ‘Coach, where do I go, how do I feel good about this day to day to day when I'm seeing what’s happening and where’s my opportunity? How am I going to get my opportunity?’”