Brian Flores has brought a bombshell lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams.
The basis is that he has faced discrimination on multiple occasions, most recent alleging the New York Giants interviewed him solely to fulfill Rooney Rule requirements.
Some text messages from Bill Belichick meant for Brian Daboll are his main evidence.
But the entire lawsuit is about more than his interview with the Giants.
It is no secret that Flores being fired by the Miami Dolphins was a shock.
One part of his lawsuit focuses on Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who reportedly had quite the sinister offer.
"During 2019 season, Miami owner, Stephen Ross, told Mr. Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for every
loss and the team’s GM, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that “Steve” was “mad” that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was “compromising [the team’s] draft position.”— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) February 1, 2022
The lawsuit claims Ross was willing to pay Flores $100,000 for every loss during the 2019 season.
Of course, Flores instead rallied the team to five wins and they selected Tua Tagovailoa in the 2020 NFL Draft.
A truly awful season could have allowed them to take Joe Burrow.
Tanking in the NFL is not some new concept.
But an owner reportedly trying to bribe a head coach to lose is truly something new.
Brian Flores Is Fighting For What Is Right
This lawsuit from Flores has the power to endanger his chances of landing a head coaching job ever again.
But if even this claim about Ross is true, he is doing the right thing.
He is revealing injustices he has faced throughout his NFL tenure, and an owner trying to bribe him to lose in his first season on the job is truly upsetting.
He refused and instantly became an enemy of the man who hired him in the first place.
So Stephen Ross is offering to pay coaches to lose, calling other team’s QBs while the player he invested a top-5 pick in a year ago is in-house + avoiding bringing the best coach on the market because he coaches at his Alma Mater + we wonder what had happened to this franchise?
— Neal Driscoll (@NealDriscoll) February 1, 2022
If Ross was so keen on losing, he should have hired a candidate who would go along with his awful plan.
Flores getting fired after two winning seasons makes a bit more sense now.
Fans will now wait to see if the NFL investigates Ross and the Dolphins, or tries to bury this all under the rug.
NEXT: NFL Insider Provides Update On Dolphins HC Search