On Tuesday, former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action complaint in the Southern District of New York, claiming that he and several other potential Black head coaches have been denied opportunities to advance in the NFL due to the league’s racist hiring practices and flagrant violations of the Rooney Rule.
The examples Flores cites are individual bombshells on their own. Taken together, they paint a picture of an NFL that is even more widely racist than some would have accused it of being before this complaint was released.
“God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the need for change is bigger than my personal goals,” Flores said in a statement. “In making the decision to file the class action complaint, I understand that I may be risking coaching the game I love, and has done so much for my family and me. My sincere hope is that by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”
Flores, who was fired by the Miami Dolphins in January 10, led the team to two straight winning seasons in 2020 and 2021 (the first Dolphins head coach to do so since Dave Wannstedt did it in 2002 and 2003), did so despite a depleted roster and claims in the 2020 season that the team was “tanking” to amass better draft picks for the future.
According to Flores’ claim, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was literally invested in losing games to build higher draft picks for the future. According to the claim, “during the 2019 season, Miami’s owner, Stephen Ross, told Mr. Flores that he would pay him $100,000 for everyloss, and the team’s General Manager, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that “Steve” was “mad” that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was “compromising [the team’s] draft position.”
Flores also claims that the New York Giants and Denver Broncos engaged in sham interviews with him, knowing full well that those two teams were planning to hire other head coaches. Flores’ claim includes what is purported to be text messages from Bill Belichick, for whom Flores worked as a scout, assistant coach, and de facto defensive coordinator from 2004 through 2018. In the complaint, Flores claims that Belichick congratulated him on getting the vacant Giants’ head coach position, when Belichick was actually trying to text Brian Daboll, the former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator who got the Giants’ job. (expletive deleted by author)
If this is true, it means that the Giants had made the decision to hire Daboll before interviewing any minority candidates, a clear violation of the Rooney Rule.
Flores also claims that the Denver Broncos engaged in a sham interview with him in 2019 when they either had already decided to hire Vic Fangio, or were just unable to take the interview process seriously.
From the complaint:
Incredibly, this was not Mr. Flores’ first sham interview that was held only in an effort to comply with the Rooney Rule. Indeed, in 2019 Mr. Flores was scheduled to interview with the Denver Broncos. However, the Broncos’ then-General Manager, John Elway, President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Ellis and others, showed up an hour late to the interview. They looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had drinking heavily the night before. It was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule, and that the Broncos never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job. Shortly thereafter, Vic Fangio, a white man, was hired to be the Head Coach of the Broncos.
Flores also seeks to group other Black coaches into the class-action portion of the complaint, naming Kris Richard, Eric Bieniemy, Steve Wilks, Jim Caldwell, Eric Studesville, and Teryl Austin among those who should seek legal relief.
Flores seeks injunctive relief that includes the following:
- Increase the influence of Black individuals in hiring and termination decisions for General Manager, Head Coach and Offensive and Defensive Coordinator positions;
- Ensure diversity of ownership by creating and funding a committee
dedicated to sourcing Black investors to take majority ownership
stakes in NFL Teams; - Ensure diversity of decision-making by permitting select Black
players and coaches to participate in the interviewing process for
General Manager, Head Coach and Offensive and Defensive
Coordinator positions; - Increase the objectivity of hiring and termination decisions for General Manager, Head Coach and Offensive and Defensive Coordinator positions;
- Require NFL Teams to reduce to writing the rationale for hiring
and termination decisions, including a full explanation of the basis
for any subjective influences (e.g., trust, personality, interview
performance, etc.); - Require NFL Teams to consider side-by-side comparisons of
objective criteria, such as past performance, experience and
objective qualifications; - Increase the number of Black Offensive and Defensive Coordinators;
- Create and fund a training program for lower-level Black coaches
who demonstrate an aptitude for coaching and an interest in advancing to a Coordinator position; - Incentivize the hiring and retention of Black General Managers, Head Coaches and Offensive and Defensive Coordinators through monetary, draft and/or other compensation such as additional salary cap space; and
- Complete transparency with respect to pay for all General Managers, Head Coaches and Offensive and Defensive Coordinators.
In response, the Giants released a statement regarding their hire of Brian Daboll.
Statement from the New York Giants pic.twitter.com/lq8zE3j6NB
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 1, 2022