Flores Lawsuit Follow-Up, the Major Allegation and the 2019 Dolphins Season
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores did the national television rounds Wednesday morning to discuss the bombshell class-action lawsuit he filed against the NFL, three teams specifically and potentially every other team in the league, and he and his attorneys provided even more specifics in the eye-opening allegation he made against the team that fired him Jan. 10.
And that allegation, the one that eventually could have major ramifications for the Dolphins, involves owner Stephen Ross offering him $100,000 for every loss during the 2019 season, the idea being to secure the highest draft pick possible.
Flores said on ESPN's "Get Up" that Ross suggested he not work so hard and maybe even take a vacation besides making the financial offer.
"That was a conversation about not doing as much as we needed to do to win football games," Flores said. " 'Take a flight, go on vacation. I'll give you $100k per loss.' Those are his exact words."
Earlier, this is what Flores said on "CBS Mornings":
“I didn’t grow up with a lot and this game changed my life. So to attack the integrity of the game, that’s what I felt was happening in that instance, and I wouldn’t stand for it. I think it hurt my standing within the organization and ultimately was the reason I was let go.”
READ THE ENTIRE BRIAN FLORES LAWSUIT
The allegation against Ross, along with the owner asking Flores to meet and try to recruit a pending free agent quarterback still under contract with his team (Tom Brady), were among the most notable items in the 58-page lawsuit filed in New York on Tuesday.
While tampering with a player under contract with another team could lead to some sort of league punishment, such as a fine or loss of a draft pick, incentivizing a coach to lose would be far more egregious and carry a lot stiffer consequences.
There, we're talking about throwing games or game-fixing, and massively compromising the integrity of the game. It's the kind of offense that could lead to severe consequences for Ross if proven, up to and including the possibility of him being forced to sell the team.
One of Flores' attorneys, Douglas Wigdor, said on CNN that there was "corroborating evidence" to support the claim.
"We're gonna prove that if this case continues to go," Wigdor said. "There's going to be corroborating evidence. There's going to be other witnesses. There's going to be emails and texts. We're confident in that allegation. As Brian said, you just don't make that up. It's a race case, right? So if he's gonna make something up, he's gonna say, 'Stephen Ross called me the n-word.' Right? Like, that's what he's gonna make up. He's not gonna make something up like this."
NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe, who previously covered the Dolphins for ESPN, said this afternoon he had spoken to a witness who said he heard Ross making the offer of $100,000 for every loss in 2019.
The Dolphins denied the allegation Tuesday when they released a statement regarding the lawsuit: "We are aware of the lawsuit through the media reports that came out this afternoon. We vehemently deny any allegations of racial discrimination and are proud of the diversity and inclusion throughout our organization. The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect. We will be withholding further comment on the lawsuit at this time."
The NFL's statement regarding the lawsuit Tuesday addressed only the allegations of racism in the hiring practices around the league, but longtime NFL reporter Chris Mortensen tweeted Wednesday night that the league will investigate Flores' claim of incentives for losses.
LOOKING BACK ON THE 2019 DOLPHINS SEASON
That 2019 season became the only one of the three Flores spent in Miami that ended in a losing record, though in the end it wasn't nearly bad enough.
And, based on his lawsuit, Flores ended up losing by winning.
Shortly after Flores was hired, the Dolphins began dismantling the roster amid talk of a "Tank for Tua" campaign designed to land the first overall pick in the 2020 draft for the chance to select Tua Tagovailoa, who was coming off a spectacular 2018 season at the University of Alabama.
From the time Flores was hired in early February until the week of the regular season opener, the Dolphins unloaded the following veterans: Andre Branch, Danny Amendola, Cameron Wake, Frank Gore, Ja'Wuan James, Ryan Tannehill, Robert Quinn, Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills and Kiko Alonso.
The last five were sent away in trades and the compensation coming back to Miami involved draft picks and three players: Julien Davenport, Johnson Bademosi and Vince Biegel.
After the trade of Tunsil (along with Stills) to Houston a week before the start of the regular season, Flores was asked point blank whether the Dolphins were tanking.
“I think you know what my response is going to be on that," he said. "Again, this game means a lot to me. I wouldn’t disrespect the game with that. Again, no we’re not (tanking). We’re going to try to win every game. I think that’s disrespectful to even say that. These guys have worked extremely hard. They’ve done that all summer, they do it all spring, and they’ll continue to do so. It’s disheartening to hear people talk about it, to even say that. For a guy who respects the game and for as much as the game has done for me, when people say that – you shouldn’t say it.”
The tanking campaign, if there was one behind the scenes, was working swimmingly in the first month of the season when the Dolphins lost their four games by a combined 163-26 (average score of 41-7).
The Dolphins also had gotten rid of a lot of fan contracts, created a lot of cap space and accumulated a lot of prime draft picks. It sure looked at the time like a very sensible roster reset that would mean sacrificing a season.
Based on the roster, there was every reason after the first month of the regular season that the Dolphins would end up with the worst record in the NFL.
But things started turning in the fourth quarter of the Week 6 game against Washington (after the bye) when Flores inserted veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick into the lineup and benched Josh Rosen, who had been acquired in the offseason for second- and fifth-round draft picks, with Miami trailing 17-3.
The Dolphins ended up losing that game 17-16 on a failed two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds, but they started playing competitive football.
After falling to 0-7, the Dolphins defeated the Jets and Colts in back-to-back weeks and then upset the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals were getting off to an 0-11 start with veteran Andy Dalton at quarterback by losing six games by seven points or less.
Heading into their Week 16 game at Hard Rock Stadium, the Bengals (1-13) had a two-game lead in the race for the worst record and first overall pick and the Dolphins needed two losses and two Cincinnati wins to overtake (undertake?) them.
Instead, when the Dolphins won 38-35 in overtime — after Cincinnati scored 16 points in the final 29 seconds to tie the score — it clinched the first overall pick for the Bengals.
With that pick, Cincinnati took Joe Burrow — fresh off arguably the greatest season ever by a college quarterback — while the Dolphins still got Tagovailoa at number 5 after choosing him over Oregon QB Justin Herbert.
Flores alleged in the lawsuit that he was treated "with disdain" following that season for essentially winning too many games.
Flores remains a candidate for two head coaching openings, that of the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints, and says he's hopeful to land a job this offseason, though he said the lawsuit will not be dropped regardless because he's looking for systemic change.
