Free agents intrigued by prospect of joining Flores’ rebuilding effort
Several of the new Miami Dolphins players already know coach Brian Flores personally.
Others, like the NFL’s new highest-paid cornerback Byron Jones, heard about Flores from people who know him.
Even though Jones hasn’t formally met Flores yet, all it took was a phone call after Jones signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with Miami to spark his competitive juices and excitement for joining the Dolphins.
“He’s a young coach and I love that — he’s got that young energy,” Jones said of Flores via video conference Thursday. “I hear he’s intense. He likes to create competitive scenarios and competitive situations. It’s just something that I like and I want to be a part of.”
Jones was the premier Dolphins signing this offseason because of his contract.
New defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who signed a two-year, $15 million deal, and defensive lineman Shaq Lawson, who signed a three-year, $30 million deal, bring dynamic pass-rushing production the Dolphins have lacked in recent seasons.
“I just felt wanted by the Dolphins, and I can’t wait to play for Coach Flores,” said Ogbah, who has trained regularly in South Florida during his career, which saw him win a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs last season.
Other players such as outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, center Ted Karras and linebacker Elandon Roberts worked with Flores while he was an assistant in New England, where their experiences with the Patriots could help accelerate Miami’s rebuilding effort.
While the NFL prevented teams from hosting players for pre-draft and free-agent visits because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the former Patriots players had no qualms about joining their former coach this offseason.
“I just respect him as a coach, what he brings to the table, what he’s all about on the field and off,” Van Noy said of Flores. “Just the type of attitude he has, the grit he has, the competitiveness he has. I mean, who doesn’t want to play for a coach like that? He’s ready to go all the time, and he brings that same energy every day.
“That’s what you want from a coach, and as a player that’s who I want to play for.”
Karras, who was Tom Brady’s center for the last four years, may have more connections to the new Dolphins players than any newcomer.
Along with being teammates with Van Noy and Roberts, Karras played college football at Illinois with new Dolphins safety Clayton Fejedelem and remembers new linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill from their time during Patriots rookie camp in 2016.
Karras also knows people from his high school who played with Flores at Boston College.
“I got a couple offers [from other teams, but] I really believe in what Coach Flores is building and doing here,” Karras said about joining the Dolphins. I kind of want to get in and help him build it. I’m looking forward to getting down there, meeting the guys and [starting] a new adventure.”
The new Dolphins players have tried to keep busy while staying home, doing their part in response to the coronavirus.
Van Noy says he’s been working out at a secluded ranch about 45 minutes from home, lifting weights and running up a hill on his own when not playing video games on an elaborate desktop computer setup.
Karras said he has been working out in a neighbor’s garage and running up and down the street at home in a small town near Foxboro, Massachusetts. He’s looking forward to coming down to South Florida and joining the team when socially acceptable again.
Ogbah, who is from Nigeria, was planning a trip back home this offseason. Instead, he’s staying indoors, playing video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Madden” on Xbox and watching Netflix. He only leaves his South Florida home if he must make a quick run to the grocery story.
New Dolphins running back Jordan Howard — who signed a two-year, $10 million deal to join Miami’s backfield — says he hasn’t been doing much weightlifting but has tried to maintain his conditioning with cardio exercises while living in Aventura.
“It’s been pretty chill for the most part until the coronavirus started hitting,” Howard said of this unique NFL offseason. “Other than that, it’s been pretty chill, pretty simple, pretty much the same. But coronavirus has definitely made things pretty weird.”
Along with playing for Flores, the new Dolphins players also shared their excitement about getting together with hopes of playing next season.
It’s a new day in the AFC East with Tom Brady no longer in New England, and the Dolphins feel as if they can capitalize.
“You combine the new talent with the talent that already [was] on the team, and combine it with the talent we’re going to get in the draft, and we’re going to have some ballers,” Jones said. “Now the challenge is putting it together, being consistent and winning games in this league, which is very hard to do.
“I am fired up to play for Miami. This is a young team that’s going in the right direction.”