Miami Dolphins watch Patriots advance still wait on Flores

The Miami Dolphins will now have to wait two more weeks before they can hire Patriots coach Brian Flores as their next head coach.

On Sunday night the Miami Dolphins got to watch the Patriots advance to their third straight Super Bowl while hoping that Brian Flores would instead become immediately available. Now they must wait.

This week the Dolphins can speak with Flores should they choose. The Patriots who will face the Rams in two weeks will allow coaches to interview elsewhere but NFL rules prohibit teams from actually signing a contract with that coach.

Miami is expected to talk with Flores most likely about other coaches that he will want to bring on board. Miami won’t actually hire the coaches ahead of Flores but they can reach out to broker deals with them ahead of the hiring.

The Patriots got their typical help from the referees last night including a reversed muff punt that went against the ruling on the field. While the replay didn’t show the ball actually touched Julian Edelman it didn’t rule it out either but the refs overturned the call.

That one was close and had a huge impact on the game but at least it was close. A phantom hit to Tom Brady’s head on a third down extended a drive that would have resulted in a punt. The Patriots would take the lead late in the 4th on that series when it was extended. Replays show the defenders hand nowhere near Brady’s helmet.

Of course the Chiefs did themselves no favors. A Chiefs defender clearly lined up in the neutral zone and was flagged for off-sides. The result of the play, had the penalty not happened would have resulted in an interception and ended the game.

On the other hand, Dolphins fans have been able to watch the play calling on defense by Flores. He has called two exceptional games against the two top teams in the AFC West defeating both. He will have one more shot against the Rams in the Super Bowl.