Jason La Canfora: Miami Dolphins Brian Flores is on the hot seat

If you listen to the dribble that comes out of the mainstream media sometimes, you need to be checked out. The latest is Brian Flores on the hot seat.

The Miami Dolphins made Brian Flores a head coach for the first time in 2019. They gave him a fully guaranteed five-year contract and last year, he led his team to ten wins and narrowly missed the playoffs but that hasn’t stopped one media guy from saying that Flores is on the hot seat.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Flores could be on the hot seat this year if the team regresses. I will say that he is not implying that Flores could be fired after the season if Miami regresses but I still find it very difficult to see the Dolphins suffer through a bad season only to see Flores enter the 2022 season looking over his shoulder.

If I am being quite honest with all of you and myself, I would more likely expect that even if the Dolphins won only five games this year, Flores will still be in a safe spot for the entirety of his contract and I would also venture to guess that Stephen Ross would add another year or two regardless of what happens this year or next.

The reason, in my opinion, is that Flores’ coaching isn’t the issue or the problem. If the Dolphins fail it will likely be due to the play of Tua Tagovailoa. In many cases, ownership tends to side with the quarterback and when one doesn’t work out, they typically fire the HC and the new HC drafts his own guy.

In the case of Tua, there isn’t a lot of names to point fingers at if Tagovailoa turns out bad. Ross, Flores, and Chris Grier all decided on Tua and while there were rumblings that someone preferred Justin Herbert over Tua, it is unclear exactly who that was and how much more they really wanted Herbert. It is unlikely that person was Ross.

Stephen Ross has gone through too many coaches. In his time as owner, he has fired Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin, and Adam Gase all since the 2011 season. He has also gone through a myriad of executive changes that included Mike Tannenbaum, Dennis Hickey, Chris Grier, and Jeff Ireland so to think that he wants to dive back into that hole isn’t likely.

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Miami is rebuilding but this third season is considered the end of that rebuild. Regardless, I would put money on Brian Flores and Chris Grier both outlasting Tagoavailoa should he not take big steps in the next two seasons. Despite Grier and Flores drafting him, they took a risk that may not pay off but Miami set themselves up for the 2023 draft with two first-round picks. If Tua doesn’t work out this year or next, the Dolphins should be in a position to draft his replacement and that would buy Flores at least another year or two.

I think this is one of those rare situations that sees a head coach sticking around regardless of their record. Flores has proven to be a good coach and the moves they are making are in the hopes of establishing a long-term solution that puts the team in a contender’s spot for years, not just a year or two. That is the commitment that Ross is making to his franchise and to put his coach on the hot seat isn’t going to make this team better with a replacement. Frankly, I don’t think Ross wants to go through another HC search, ever.

As for La Canfora, Flores was listed as one of several coaches that could be on the hot seat and  had this to say:

"There are a lot of rumblings around the industry about all not being well in Miami (which has pretty much been the norm for a few decades now), and people are already keeping a close eye down there. – Jason La Canfora"

The question that comes immediately to mind is what rumblings and what exactly is not going well in Miami? The only player that comes to mind is Tua Tagovailoa and the team seems to be on board with making sure he has the supporting cast. There are no rumblings about the front office not getting along or unhappiness from Ross. There are no player revolts outside of the Xavien Howard contract and the draft this past April was universally heralded as one of the best in the NFL. So what rumblings?