Pittsburgh Steelers hire Brian Flores as assistant coach

I believe that the the system is broken in the National Football League. In regards to hiring minorities and black coaches, head coaches and people in positions of power GM head coach. A former NFL head coach with bombshell accusations against the league brian flores. The recently dismissed head coach of the Miami Dolphins filing a landmark class action lawsuit Tuesday against the league and three of its teams alleging racial discrimination In a 58 page complaint, lawyers for flores accused the league of being racially segregated and like a plantation. These are just some of the allegations flores made in his lawsuit, among them being offered money to lose games during the 2019 season, $100,000 per loss. He also alleges the new york Giants interviewed him despite already picking their head coach during this year's hiring cycle. And during a 2019 interview with the Denver broncos according to the lawsuit. Team Brass showed up drunk and disheveled. The NFL does have a diversity problem and it's been that way since its inception, as it stands today, there is only one african american coach, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season of the six coaches hired during this year's hiring cycle. All have been white men, three head coaching positions have yet to be filled. Flora's allegations if proved true, could have serious legal ramifications for the NFL joining us. Now to dive into this is Michael McCann, he's a legal analyst and Senior sports legal reporter for sporting code dot com. Michael, thank you so much for your time. These are some damning allegations made by flores, allegations of which we haven't heard before? What do you make of this lawsuit? And what does it mean for the NFL? Sure. So the lawsuit has a ton of specifics in it, which I think is important that it's gonna be more difficult for the NFL to say this is entirely without merit. Now they issued a statement saying that in so many words, but we also know that the complaint retails all sorts of specific assertions about what florist was doing in terms of his interviews. So that may help him overcome a motion to dismiss. Certainly that would be is going to be a key part of this case where if floors can get passed a motion to dismiss that that enters what's called pre trial discovery where owners team executives would have to share emails, texts, give sworn testimony that could be pretty threatening for them. I was just gonna ask the specific evidence you mentioned, you know, phone emails like does he need recorded conversations, things in writing. What should he be presenting right now to build his case? Well, yeah, absolutely. He he should have a record keeping system in place so that if there are emails that corroborate his claims. So let's take the claim of Stephen Ross the owner of the dolphins. He says he offered him $100,000 to lose a game in order to tank to get a better draft pick? We'll have to see how that's corroborated. Is there any are there any emails to that effect or their text messages? Are there other witnesses that will give sworn testimony saying yeah, that happened or is it going to be one person's word against another that will play a factor. And there's a lot been made about the text messages with Bill Belichick that was sent before that the decision was made. What do you make of how that all played out? Does that benefit his case at all? Yeah, it could. So flores says that Belichick inadvertently texted him to say brian table is going to be hired by the Giants. And in effect he's saying if you're going to that interview, it's really sort of already predetermined. It's what flores has called this sham interview. Now there's a counter argument there. Bill Belichick doesn't work for the Giants. It's not his decision as to who is coaching for the team. Even if he heard that they are inclined to hire brian David who was the offensive coordinator of the Bills. That doesn't mean that they've hired him. Also, there's a history of coaches backing out at the last second on agreements to join Josh McDaniels. If you remember was going to join as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and then he backed out at the last second. So the Giants could say we intended to hire brian table but we hadn't signed him. So we were doing our due diligence. So some of these fact patterns, depending upon which facts you emphasize have a big impact on how they're perceived. There's been a lot of talk about the Rooney rule in the NFL, which requires teams to interview ethnic minority candidates for head coaching jobs. And senior leadership positions based on the floor is lawsuits. He alleges teams have misused this Rooney rule. And at least two interviews he had in the past were according to him shams. So does the Rooney rule work. Uh and how can Flora's prove this? Well, I think the Rooney rule works in the sense that it has brought candidates who the teams would not have otherwise interviewed to interview now, but they're not getting hired, Which I think is troubling, but they are getting interviews. And that may in some cases perhaps lead teams to think, oh we didn't know about this person. Let's now bring this candidate and let's maybe offer a job at some point. In addition, it raises somebody's status when they're interviewing for head coaching job, it gets around the league, they're interviewing. So, and so that can help coaches get other jobs, but I think it hasn't worked in terms of teams still decide who they want and this is this is why the NFL's authority over this is a little bit constrained in the sense that roger Goodell, the commissioner can't say Houston Texans you higher or so. And so I mean it's up to individual. So I think that's gonna be a constant issue, right? It's the difference between like considering a job for a position versus forcing a team to take a certain candidate, which is a completely separate debate there. Um, let's talk about Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL has released a statement saying in part that the coaching diversity in the league has been quote unacceptable. How much? How much is the commissioner to blame? Well, I think he's the boss, so ultimately he is to blame for the predicament. I think the league hoped that the Rooney rule would address some really disturbing statistics about black coaches in the NFL where not only are they having trouble getting hired, but I think as the floors lawsuit points out, there are instances where we might believe that they're not being treated the same way when they're in those positions, that maybe they're being fired more quickly and that, and that goes beyond the routine rule, right? That's, that's the employment slash, uh, severance of employment stations. So I think Goodell recognizes that there is a problem that those statements is trying to thread the needle right? Saying we need to do better. We're not doing good enough, but we're not admitting we've done anything wrong illegally. I know this will be a very high profile case, not just in the sports world, but just in general and we'll continue to follow it very closely. Michael McCann, legal analyst and Senior sports legal reporter for Sporting Code dot com. We appreciate your insight, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

Pittsburgh Steelers hire Brian Flores, who is suing the NFL for discrimination, as assistant coach

Updated: 3:50 PM EST Feb 19, 2022

Brian Flores is back in the NFL.The Pittsburgh Steelers hired the former Miami Dolphins coach on Saturday to serve as a senior defensive assistant. Flores will specialize in working with Pittsburgh's linebackers, a group that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt.The hiring comes less than three weeks after Flores, who is Black, sued the NFL and three teams over alleged racist hiring practices following his dismissal by Miami. Flores led the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons before he was fired in January.Flores has maintained his lawsuit would continue even if he found another coaching job. He joins a restructured defensive staff in Pittsburgh after longtime coordinator Keith Butler retired. Teryl Austin was promoted to take Butler's place earlier this month."I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."Tomlin is the NFL's longest-tenured Black head coach and one of three Black men to lead teams last season. The other two, Flores and Houston's David Culley, were fired. Houston subsequently hired Lovie Smith, who is Black, and Miami hired Mike McDaniel, who is biracial."The Steelers organization is FIRST CLASS," veteran Pittsburgh cornerback Joe Haden, who will become a free agent in March, tweeted after Flores' hiring was announced.Flores' lawsuit alleges the league has discriminated against Flores and other Black coaches for racial reasons, denying them positions as head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, as well as general managers. Flores also maintains Miami offered him $100,000 per loss during his first season with the team in 2019 in an effort to receive a top draft pick.The NFL has maintained the lawsuit is "without merit," although commissioner Roger Goodell said before the Super Bowl that "all of the allegations, whether they were based on racism or discrimination or the integrity of our game, all of those to me were very disturbing."The lawsuit has also sparked the league to review the "Rooney Rule," a policy named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney. Introduced in 2003, the policy has expanded to require NFL teams to interview multiple minority candidates for high-profile job vacancies, including head coach and general manager.Current Steelers president Art Rooney II acknowledged recently the league has "not seen progress in the ranks of head coaches," although he pointed out strides in the hiring of women and minorities in various leadership roles.Flores' lawsuit specifically names Austin as an example of a coach affected by racism in hiring. Austin, who is Black, told The Associated Press he is 0 for 11 when interviewing for head coaching jobs during his nearly 20 years in the NFL.Now Flores will work under Austin as they try to help Pittsburgh's defense bounce back from a subpar 2022. The Steelers made the playoffs at 9-7-1 but finished 20th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed, the unit's worst season in more than 30 years.Flores won four Super Bowl rings as part of the New England Patriots' coaching staff from 2004-18. He spent his final season with New England as the linebackers coach and defensive play-caller as the Patriots shut down the Los Angeles Rams to win the franchise's sixth Super Bowl.

PITTSBURGH —

Brian Flores is back in the NFL.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hired the former Miami Dolphins coach on Saturday to serve as a senior defensive assistant. Flores will specialize in working with Pittsburgh's linebackers, a group that includes NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt.

The hiring comes less than three weeks after Flores, who is Black, sued the NFL and three teams over alleged racist hiring practices following his dismissal by Miami. Flores led the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons before he was fired in January.

Flores has maintained his lawsuit would continue even if he found another coaching job. He joins a restructured defensive staff in Pittsburgh after longtime coordinator Keith Butler retired. Teryl Austin was promoted to take Butler's place earlier this month.

"I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team."

Tomlin is the NFL's longest-tenured Black head coach and one of three Black men to lead teams last season. The other two, Flores and Houston's David Culley, were fired. Houston subsequently hired Lovie Smith, who is Black, and Miami hired Mike McDaniel, who is biracial.

"The Steelers organization is FIRST CLASS," veteran Pittsburgh cornerback Joe Haden, who will become a free agent in March, tweeted after Flores' hiring was announced.

Flores' lawsuit alleges the league has discriminated against Flores and other Black coaches for racial reasons, denying them positions as head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coaches, as well as general managers. Flores also maintains Miami offered him $100,000 per loss during his first season with the team in 2019 in an effort to receive a top draft pick.

The NFL has maintained the lawsuit is "without merit," although commissioner Roger Goodell said before the Super Bowl that "all of the allegations, whether they were based on racism or discrimination or the integrity of our game, all of those to me were very disturbing."

The lawsuit has also sparked the league to review the "Rooney Rule," a policy named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney. Introduced in 2003, the policy has expanded to require NFL teams to interview multiple minority candidates for high-profile job vacancies, including head coach and general manager.

Current Steelers president Art Rooney II acknowledged recently the league has "not seen progress in the ranks of head coaches," although he pointed out strides in the hiring of women and minorities in various leadership roles.

Flores' lawsuit specifically names Austin as an example of a coach affected by racism in hiring. Austin, who is Black, told The Associated Press he is 0 for 11 when interviewing for head coaching jobs during his nearly 20 years in the NFL.

Now Flores will work under Austin as they try to help Pittsburgh's defense bounce back from a subpar 2022. The Steelers made the playoffs at 9-7-1 but finished 20th in points allowed and 24th in yards allowed, the unit's worst season in more than 30 years.

Flores won four Super Bowl rings as part of the New England Patriots' coaching staff from 2004-18. He spent his final season with New England as the linebackers coach and defensive play-caller as the Patriots shut down the Los Angeles Rams to win the franchise's sixth Super Bowl.