Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is entering into his third career season with the team and finds himself and his team ready to make a statement in 2021. The Dolphins have done well to outperform expectations under Flores; they’ve overachieved in the win column in each of the last two seasons and finished last year with 10 wins — a rarity for Miami’s franchise in the 2000s.
And should the Dolphins experience similar or greater success to what they did last year, Flores is quickly going to find himself near the upper echelons of Dolphins’ head coaching wins. Here is the current rankings for all 13 of Miami’s head coaches in franchise history:
- Don Shula: 257-133-2
- Dave Wannstedt: 42-31
- Jimmy Johnson: 36-28
- Tony Sparano: 29-32
- Joe Philbin: 24-28
- Adam Gase: 23-25
- Nick Saban: 15-17
- Brian Flores: 15-17
- George Wilson: 15-39-2
- Dan Campbell: 5-7
- Jim Bates: 3-4
- Todd Bowles: 2-1
- Cam Cameron: 1-15
Flores’ next win will push him past another colleague on the Bill Belichick coaching tree, Nick Saban. Another 10-win season for Flores will push him past his previous two predecessors, Adam Gase and Joe Philbin. Gase got three full seasons before being fired after the 2018 season collapse. Philbin got three and a quarter seasons, although his teams were also known for late-season collapses and there was a firm argument for making a change after his third season, too.
It will be hard to see Flores’ Dolphins flopping hard enough to drum up any serious arguments against Flores being the coach again in 2022 and beyond — so even if the team struggles, Flores should be well positioned to attack the exclusive club that is Dolphins head coaches to surpass 30 wins by 2022.
The goal for 2021 in this regard for Dolphins fans should be seeing Flores catching (and passing) Philbin. Such an outcome would mean Miami won 10+ games once again this season. And despite the hard luck Miami saw with 10 wins last season, it should be enough to get a postseason ticket this time around.