John Elway has responded to a claim made by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who believes the Broncos didn’t view him as a serious candidate during his head coaching interview in 2019, arriving late to their scheduled meeting while appearing hungover. In a statement shared to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Elway refuted the narrative put forth by Flores, insisting he and CEO Joe Ellis were prepared and treated Flores with the utmost respect during their three-and-a-half-hour interview.
“While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian Flores, I could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked,” wrote Elway, who the Broncos promoted from general manager to president of football operations last year. “I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019.” The Hall-of-Fame quarterback went on to say he took Flores “very seriously” as a candidate and was “fully engaged” during their interview.
As for his appearance, if Elway looked “disheveled,” he says it was only because he flew in late that night after conducting an interview in Denver hours earlier. “For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning is subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong,” Elway claimed. “If I appeared ‘disheveled,’ as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night—immediately following another interview in Denver—and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us.”
Flores’ experience interviewing with Denver in 2019 was included in a 58-page discrimination lawsuit filed earlier this week, accusing the NFL of unfair hiring practices that put minorities at a disadvantage. Flores, who was recently named a finalist for the Texans’ head coaching job, has received support from many in the NFL community including Tony Dungy, Ron Rivera, Jerry Jones and even Elway’s former teammate, Terrell Davis. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who was also named in the lawsuit, released a statement similar to Elway’s, defending himself against claims Flores was bribed to lose games on purpose.
Related
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram