For someone who recently named his former employer in a major lawsuit, Brian Flores doesn’t sound like he has much of a beef with Bill Belichick after all.
Appearing on the most recent episode of the I Am Athlete podcast, the former Patriots defensive coach (now a defensive assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers) spoke to a number of topics surrounding his lawsuit against the NFL, his relationship with Belichick and more. Flores named four teams in his suit, which has caused a massive stir and opened eyes league-wide, receiving significant media coverage the past few weeks. Though the suit addresses many longstanding issues in the National Football League, it seems to have been set into motion by a seemingly innocuous error by the Patriots coach.
“I’m not mad. Bill did what a lot of us do, sent a text message to the wrong person.”, said Flores of Belichick’s now-infamous text to him, congratulating the wrong Brian on getting the head coaching job of the New York Giants (Belichick thought he was texting now Giants coach Brian Daboll, also a former Patriots assistant). As to why Flores thought the text was worth including, he believed it confirmed several biases that exist in the NFL head coach hiring process.
“It confirmed a lot of things that I thought were going on, that I think a lot of black minority coaches think are going on. It kinda confirmed it for me. You know, as far as having a fair and equal opportunity to go and interview and show your acumen, show your intelligence, show your ability to lead.”
While still feeling compelled to name his former coach in the lawsuit, Flores spoke positively of his former boss and mentor, agreeing with host Brandon Marshall’s assessment that he is “The GOAT”, explaining an element of Belichick’s approach that he admires and has tried to emulate himself “I think the one thing people don’t know about Bill is...he listens. He listens.”, said Flores, adding, “If you have, and again you have to earn the right, but if you have an idea, if you have a thought, if you have a person, a matchup that you think we can win, a part in the game that...he’ll listen. He may add something to it. He may throw it out, but he listens. That’s one of his greatest strengths and something that I try to take from him.”
Flores, in conversation with hosts Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson and Omar Kelly, talks about a wide array of topics, including his time in New England and Miami, his dismissal from the Dolphins, family life, the need to file this lawsuit now and much more. Of note toward the episode’s end, Flores says in relation to his coaching style, which lends context to the lawsuit and more, “I won’t compromise. Maybe that's something I got to do better, but I just can’t.” To watch the full episode click HERE: