Brian Flores, who is suing the NFL and three of its teams over discrimination in the hiring process of head coaches, joined the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday as a senior defensive assistant in charge of linebackers.
Fired after three seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against his former team, along with the New York Giants and Denver Broncos, in addition to the league. Flores, who is Black, alleges racial discrimination in the league’s hiring practices.
Flores, 40, was relieved of his duties in January after leading the Dolphins to a 24-25 record, including a 10-6 finish in 2020 and a 9-8 mark last season. Those were the first back-to-back winning seasons for the Dolphins since 2002-03.
“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.”
Veteran cornerback Joe Haden, who spent the past five seasons with the Steelers, seemed to approve of the move when he wrote on his verified Twitter account: “The Steelers organization is FIRST CLASS.”
The Steelers organization is FIRST CLASS.
— Joe Haden (@joehaden23) February 19, 2022
When Flores was fired, it left Tomlin as the only Black head coach in the NFL. The Houston Texans since have hired Lovie Smith, and the Dolphins replaced Flores with Mike McDaniel, who is multiracial.
With the Steelers, Flores will fill the senior defensive assistant role that Teryl Austin held before he was promoted to defensive coordinator. Former defensive coordinator Keith Butler was in charge of coaching the Steelers outside linebackers before his retirement in January. Jerry Olsavsky has coached the Steelers inside linebackers for the past seven seasons.
Flores has spent 14 seasons coaching at the NFL level, including his tenure with the Dolphins. From 2008 until 2018, he was employed by the New England Patriots and was their linebackers coach for three seasons before he was hired in Miami. Flores also coached safeties, special teams and was a defensive assistant during his time in New England. He previously spent four years in a personnel role.
Flores’ lawsuit alleges he was told to lose games with the Dolphins in order to help the franchise get better draft positioning. The suit claims Flores was offered $100,000 by owner Stephen Ross for each game he lost in his initial season. Early in Flores’ first season, the Dolphins began gutting the roster and traded safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Steelers for a first-round draft pick.
After being fired in Miami, Flores interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans, along with the Giants. The interview process with the Giants this year is a part of his lawsuit, as Flores alleges the franchise already had its mind made up in hiring Brian Daboll, who is white, before interviewing Flores.
The lawsuit criticizes the Rooney Rule, which was named after late Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, and is designed to encourage minority candidates receive interviews for coaching jobs. Adopted in 2003, the rule has been tweaked in recent years. Teams must interview at least two external minority candidates for head coaching positions and at least one for a coordinator job.
The Steelers are scheduled to play at Miami during the 2022 season.
