Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores may have started his head coaching career with a bumpy ride (starting his first season 0-7), but the steady demeanor and approach of Flores — and selling his players into the new standard in South Florida, paid dividends by the second half of his rookie season. By the end of the year, the Dolphins were scrappy underdogs that claimed more wins than losses over their final nine games, finishing the year 5-4 in that stretch with another “near miss” in a loss to the New York Jets.
Now, entering into Flores’ second season as the head man in Miami, the Dolphins are facing higher expectations than 2019 — but still nothing close to the standard of wins that you’d expect from a playoff contender. And so, with the Dolphins’ momentum from 2019, some as questioning whether or not Brian Flores can be a sneaky good bet for the NFL’s Coach of the Year award in 2020.
If that were to materialize, the Dolphins would need to likely claim a division title and 10+ wins this season — a feat that shouldn’t be expected from Dolphins fans but also isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility in a rapidly evolving AFC East landscape. Flores, even then, will find stiff competition — here are the current odds for the NFL’s 2020 Coach of the Year, per SportsBetting.ag:
- Bill Belichick 12/1
- Bruce Arians 12/1
- Mike McCarthy 14/1
- Frank Reich 16/1
- Andy Reid 18/1
- Kevin Stefanski 18/1
- Kliff Kingsbury 18/1
- Sean McDermott 18/1
- Kyle Shanahan 20/1
- Mike Vrabel 22/1
- Brian Flores 25/1
- Doug Pederson 25/1
- John Harbaugh 25/1
- Sean Payton 25/1
- Vic Fangio 25/1
- Mike Tomlin 28/1
- Mike Zimmer 28/1
- Pete Carroll 28/1
- Anthony Lynn 30/1
- Dan Quinn 30/1
- Matt LaFleur 30/1
- Matt Nagy 30/1
- Sean McVay 30/1
- Matt Patricia 33/1
- Matt Rhule 33/1
- Zac Taylor 33/1
- Joe Judge 40/1
- Jon Gruden 40/1
- Ron Rivera 40/1
- Adam Gase 50/1
- Bill O’Brien 50/1
- Doug Marrone 50/1
Flores’ standing in the middle of the field may surprise, but his status as a better bet than Sean Payton to win the award is more of a byproduct of New Orleans’ expectations as a team; since they’re widely considered a Super Bowl contender and should win 12+ games this season, doing so would serve only as doing what is expected. Flores has the benefit of wiggle room upward to overachieve, which could be a first class ticket to winning some hardware.
If you’re feeling lucky, sure — Flores’ odds are a nice enough payout to consider biting and getting in on the action; hopefully ahead of a fast start this season that could be used as a further springboard to success throughout the difficult stretches of the season.