[jwplayer OpQtLErp-ThvAeFxT]
The Brian Flores era in Miami didn’t exactly get off to the smoothest of starts. The team started 0-7 under the watch of Flores during an aggressive rebuilding effort and the team saw the trade of standout left tackle Laremy Tunsil and a bridge burned with 2018 1st-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick. What has come since, however, is a much more promising development for the Dolphins — the team is 15-10 since that 0-7 start was snapped. And, to the credit of Brian Flores, the Dolphins aren’t just sneaking out wins over that 25 game stretch, either.
Miami logged seven wins by more than one score (9 or more points) in 2020 alone; two more than the team had between the 2015-2019 seasons combined.
Tonight’s 18-point Dolphins win is just the 6th multi-score win for Miami since the start of the 2015 season.
— Kyle Crabbs (@GrindingTheTape) September 25, 2020
The trend line is moving in the right direction for the Dolphins — no one can question that. But how does Brian Flores rank among prior Dolphins coaches through his first two seasons in Miami? The Dolphins have had ten full-time head coaches in franchise history (plus three interim coaches in Jim Bates, Todd Bowles, and Dan Campbell). Here’s the list of wins through their first two seasons with the Dolphins:
- Dave Wannstedt: 22
- Don Shula: 20*
- Tony Sparano: 18
- Jimmy Johnson: 17
- Adam Gase: 16
- Brian Flores: 15
- Nick Saban: 15
- Joe Philbin: 15
- George Wilson: 7 *
- Cam Cameron: 1**
*14 game seasons
**only served 1 season before dismissal
Flores’ resume through two seasons lands right in the middle of the pack without context. But his 5-win improvement is the best second-year leap in wins for any coach in franchise history by a comfortable margin. Shula enjoyed 10-win seasons in each of his first two years, Wannstedt’s teams finished 11-5 both of his first two seasons, and only Joe Philbin, Jimmy Johnson and George Wilson managed to improve in year two: Philbin improved from 7-9 to 8-8, Johnson from 8-8 to 9-7 and Wilson improved from 3-11 to 4-10.
Net Wins In Year 2:
- Brian Flores: +5
- Jimmy Johnson: +1
- George Wilson: +1*
- Joe Philbin: +1
- Don Shula: +0*
- Dave Wannstedt: +0
- Nick Saban: -3
- Tony Sparano: -4
- Adam Gase: -4
- Cam Cameron: Negative infinity
*14 game seasons