Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Comparison to Patriots a little bit unhealthy
Expecting Flores to turn Miami into New England unrealistic
Just because the souschef worked with and studied under the executive chef for 15 years doesn’t mean the souschef knows how to create and deliver the same dishes.
New Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores has a great story about overcoming poverty and adversity. He seems like the kind of man you would want as your best friend, or for your daughter to date.
He’s worked his way up in one of the most accomplished teams in professional football, serving in different roles at every level of the Patriots’ organization and helping that franchise win four of its six titles.
He’s admired by his peers and respected by his adversaries.
Flores is viewed as a good hire for the Dolphins, who have made a series of bad hires during Steve Ross’ tenure as the franchise’s owner the past decade. But history says Flores won’t instantly turn the Dolphins into New England south because he
isn’t in possession of the Patriots’ secret sauce.
And what troubles me most about his introductory news conference on Monday was that the Dolphins tried to sell the idea Flores is bringing the New England blueprint to South Florida, and that’s fraudulent.
Coveting what the Patriots have isn’t unique and neither is trying to replicate it. At least half a dozen teams have tried and failed at building their franchise using The Patriot Way.
The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns (twice), Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos all did what Miami’s doing — hiring a Bill Belichick disciple hoping some of New England’s dynamic dynasty would accompany them to their next stop.
It didn’t work for any of them.
Belichick’s Patriots disciples turned NFL head coaches own a 120-167 record, with one playoff victory on their collective resume.
Without Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, the recipe doesn’t taste the same, and that’s because Brady is New England’s secret sauce.
That is why every assistant who has left the Patriots to become a head coach, with the exception of Texans coach Bill O’Brien, has failed.
Some people want to give Belichick credit for Nick Saban’s success in college football. But keep in mind that’s not the NFL, where Saban struggled in his two seasons in Miami, producing a 15-17 record. And Saban never accompanied Belichick to New England, participating in this legendary run of success. He only worked with him in Cleveland before becoming Michigan State’s head coach.
Being able to hire and develop good assistants is certainly a Belichick strength, but it’s not a trait that’s necessarily transferable. And history proves that.
Josh McDaniels’ ego led to his quick exit from Denver. Eric Mangini couldn’t win with veteran Jets and Browns teams. Romeo Crennel had one winning season in his five years as an NFL head coach.
Charlie Weis never got a taste of being a head coach in the NFL, but he was 41-49 overall in eight seasons as head coach at Notre Dame and Kansas.
Matt Patricia had such a rough first season in Detroit, going 6-10 with a talented squad, some NFL insiders are surprised he survived, and doubt he’ll make it to a third if he doesn’t mature.
Teams have struggled to replicate what the Patriots have done for two decades because they aren’t getting the greatest quarterback of all time, or a legendary coach who will be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he retires.
So pretending Flores can turn the Dolphins into New England by preaching “team,” and cultivating culture, is unhealthy, if not unrealistic.
The Patriots win because of their high level of execution, and that is not something a talent-starved team with culture creates.
Belichick is a master at taking other team’s trash and turning it into treasure, finding roles for previously miscast players to thrive.
His Patriots also have the ability to evolve, altering game plans from week to week based on the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
But that ability to shapeshift has taken New England years, if not a decade to cultivate.
This franchise doesn’t have, and won’t grant Flores that kind of time, or patience.
So let us stop the Patriots comparisons, and hope the team Flores spends the next few seasons cooking up is unique, authentic, flavorful, and most importantly, competitive.