Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
■ Dolphins coach on Stills comments about Steve Ross: I wish he wouldn’t have done that.
A month before regular season begins, Flores is embracing every twist and turn
DAVIE — Brian Flores has often reflected on his life and football journey that has afforded him the Miami Dolphins coaching job.
But Flores surely could not have imagined the first seven months of his new job unfolding the way it has — especially a month before the 2019 NFL season has even started.
Flores has endured a spectrum of events and emotions from personal achievements and triumph to the loss of his mother, the neardeath of a player and being in the background of a political storm surrounding team owner Steve Ross and outspoken receiver Kenny Stills.
Despite it all, Flores flashes a bright smile and radiates confidence.
This is the opportunity he wanted. These are the moments he believes he was built for.
“That’s the job,” Flores said with a smile following Thursday’s preseason opener, a 34-27 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium.
“Look, when you’re in a leadership position there’s a lot on your plate. It’s something that, I think, I welcome it all, to be honest,” Flores continued.
“I don’t run away from any adversity or really any situation. And I don’t want our players to run away from anything. I think I need to be an example to them.”
Even before Flores’ first preseason game, the Dolphins were in the national and political spotlight.
Stills openly criticized Ross on Twitter for planning to host a fundraising event at his Long Island home for President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign.
Stills said he has received sev
eral death threats since posting his tweet, which pointed out that by supporting Trump he felt Ross was contradicting the ideals he wants to advocate for like equality, inclusion and diversity.
“The tweet doesn’t put me against Mr. Ross. I’m just trying to inform him that the two things don’t align. I don’t think it’s that complicated,” Stills said Thursday night after again kneeling during the national anthem to raise awareness of social injustice.
Flores said he would have preferred if Stills had reached out to Ross before publicly speaking out against the owner.
But Flores said he will continue to support Stills in his efforts to “be a voice for people who don’t have a voice.”
While the Trump-Ross-Stills issue has attracted the most attention, Flores also has experienced a number of other noteworthy events in his transition as a first-time NFL head coach.
Less than a month after Flores helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowl LIII and accepted the Dolphins job in February, his mother Maria died on March 2 following a battle with cancer. She was 61.
Before the Dolphins began training camp last month, defensive tackle Kendrick Norton had his left arm amputated following a car accident on July 4.
Flores has remained supportive of Norton since the accident, visiting Norton while he was hospitalized and ensuring he will remain with the team so he can earn his $495,000 salary and medical benefits to aid his recovery.
Flores also saw an overhaul at quarterback, when Miami traded former starter Ryan Tannehill, signed journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick and acquired Josh Rosen.
Flores has also made two adjustments to his coaching staff early in his tenure. Assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell was relegated to a consultant role with the team on July 13 to address an undisclosed health issue. Flores then appointed Dave DeGuglielmo to replace Pat Flaherty as offensive line coach on July 30, less than a week into training camp.
If the past seven months are any indication, Flores can expect to experience a few more twists and turns during his first season with the Dolphins. But he continues to be excited about the opportunity.
“I reflected on this entire process and I’m having a lot of fun. I am. I’m fortunate,” Flores said.
“I’m humbled to be in this position to lead, to be an example of hard work, and try to be consistent, and try to do things the right way, and at the same time be demanding and tough, and try to help these guys become the best version of themselves. I take a lot of pride in that.”