In a somewhat surprising move, the Miami Dolphins have fired head coach Brian Flores after 3 seasons. The move caught many off guard as Miami is coming off back-to-back winning seasons and finished the 2021 season by winning 8 of their last 9 games. Additionally, the players appeared to like Flores and played hard for him.
Dolphins’ management has yet to explain the rationale for firing Flores, but rumors say Miami management and Flores were in disagreement about potential changes to Flores’ coaching staff. His relationship with GM Chris Grier was also said to be less than ideal.
Flores’ coaching staff has undergone a lot of turnover in his 3 years as the Dolphins coach, which I have always found disconcerting. The most notable changes have been on the offensive side of the ball. Flores has had 4 different offensive line coaches in 3 years and this position group has been the biggest under performer on the team. He has also had a new Offensive Coordinator each season including the confusing co-offensive coordinators this season with George Godsey and Eric Studesville.
Slow starts have also been a pattern for Flores’ teams as the Dolphins started 1-7 this season after starting 1-3 in 2020 and 0-7 in 2019. One extra win in the 2020 and 2021 seasons would have resulted in Miami making the playoffs.
The firing of Flores would appear to indicate that GM Chris Grier’s job is safe for now, although many people may feel that if anyone needed to be fired it should have been Grier, not Flores.
Another segment of people probably feel owner Stephen Ross should be “fired”, but that obviously can’t happen. Under Ross’ leadership, the Dolphins organization has been dysfunctional with a constant turnover at the GM, head coach and assistant coach positions. When you look at the better run organizations in the NFL like the Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs & Ravens, stability at the GM and coaching positions has been a key element of their success.
No GM may have more on his plate going forward than Grier, as not only does he need to hire a new head coach, but he also must decide on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the team. Is he part of the Fins future or do they explore trade options for a veteran QB such as Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson?
In addition, Miami also has about $75M in cap space available, the most of any team in the NFL. Hence, he will have a lot of free agent decisions to make.
Who will be the Dolphins next coach? Current Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s name will certainly be bandied about, as Ross is a huge fan of his. I would focus on an offensive oriented coach with NFL
experience as either a head coach or as a coordinator.
I would also try to retain defensive coordinator Josh Boyer and most of his staff, as the Fins defense has been the strongest part of the Dolphins team the past 2 seasons. If you like change, the Dolphins organization is the one for you. If you like stability and playoff appearances, then look elsewhere. Maybe Ross and Grier can get it right this time, but their track record doesn’t bode well.
