N.Y. path could be open for ex-Dolphins coach
Giants hire former Miami exec as GM; could be Flores next?
Could a return home to New York be in store for former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores?
The New York Giants are expected to interview Flores, according to an ESPN Friday report. Flores, a Brooklyn native, has already been interviewed by the Chicago Bears for their head coaching vacancy and is a name that has been mentioned in connection to the Houston Texans’ opening, as well.
Flores was fired on Jan. 10 after three seasons with the Dolphins, when the team went 24-25. His dismissal was a surprise around the NFL as he took over a roster devoid of talent in 2019 and squeezed five wins out of the team before then producing back-toback winning seasons in 2020 and 2021. Dolphins owner Steve Ross attributed the decision to Flores’ methods of communication and collaboration within the organization.
The Dolphins have since lined up at least seven known interviews: Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Los Angeles Rams running backs coach Thomas Brown. The latest of those interviews — with Joseph and Brown — are wrapping up on Friday, according to NFL Network.
Frazier, Quinn and Joseph have previous head coaching experience. Daboll, Quinn and Joseph have had a previous stop with the Dolphins, and Brown is a former Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator.
Flores was born and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and attended Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn before playing college football at Boston College. When the Dolphins topped the New York Jets, 24-17, on Nov. 21 at MetLife Stadium, where the Giants also play, Flores wore an FDNY shirt to the postgame press conference as a tribute to his uncle, a retired firefighter for Ladder 118 in Brooklyn.
The report came as the Giants announced Friday that they hired Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen, who was a longtime Dolphins executive, to fill their general manager vacancy.
The Giants’ hiring of Schoen could also lead to him pulling Daboll from Buffalo to join him with the Giants. ESPN also named Daboll and Quinn as additional candidates for the New York coaching job.
Schoen and Flores never crossed paths in Miami as Schoen joined the Bills in 2017, two years before Flores was hired by the Dolphins.
They’ve been in the AFC
East together for years, though, with Flores’ 15 years in the New England Patriots’ organization both as a scout and assistant coach coincided largely with Schoen’s time with the Dolphins.
Schoen first joined Miami in 2008 as a national scout. Five years later, Schoen became the Dolphins’ assistant director of college scouting, and in his final four years in Miami, he was director of player personnel, working his way up to fourth in charge.
Schoen’s decadelong tenure with the Dolphins gained him experience under Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland, Dennis Hickey and current general manager Chris Grier.
Since working under Bills general manager Brandon Beane, the two, along with coach Sean McDermott, have transformed Buffalo into the AFC East’s top team and a perennial contender.
According to the Giants’ press release, Schoen “led Miami’s preparation, assessment and acquisition of potential professional and collegiate free agents. Schoen was heavily involved in Miami’s NFL draft preparations, including evaluation and draft board construction while also serving as a key liaison between the coaching staff and personnel staff ” during his tenure with the Dolphins.
Still with connections in Miami, Schoen could potentially look to poach executives from the Dolphins.
Flores went 0-6 against Schoen’s Bills in his three seasons with the Dolphins.