Brian Flores Joins Steelers Staff Amid NFL Legal Battle
Written by SOURCE on February 20, 2022
Brian Flores has landed a new job.
On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed that they hired Flores as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the 2022-23 season. The news comes just weeks after Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and several of its teams over alleged discrimination.
“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 head 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.”
We have named Brian Flores as our senior defensive assistant/linebackers.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 19, 2022
Flores was fired by the Dolphins back in January, after leading the team to a 24-25 record over the course of three seasons. In his newly filed lawsuit, Flores claimed Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for every loss during the 2019 season in an effort to secure a top draft pick. Ross has denied the allegations and said he has every intention to cooperate with the league’s investigation.
“I am a man of honor and integrity and cannot let [Flores’ charges] stand without responding,” Ross said in a previous statement. “I take great personal exception to these malicious attacks, and the truth must be known. His allegations are false, malicious and defamatory.”
Flores is also suing the Denver Broncos and New York Giants over what he calls racist hiring practices. He said he interviewed with both teams for a head coaching position but was never given a fair shot. Flores said that when he met with Denver, the executives appeared both disheveled and hungover, which made him believe he was not considered a serious candidate.
Flores also claimed he was scheduled to have a second interview with Giants at the end of January, but the team had already selected a head coach before the meeting was set to take place. Flores pointed to a text exchange with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who mistakenly congratulated him on landing the Giants job.
“Sorry—I fucked this up. I double checked and misread the text,” Belichick allegedly wrote. “I think they are naming Brian Daboll. I’m sorry about that.”
Flores said he’s convinced the Broncos and Giants never intended to hire him as a head coach, and simply agreed to the interviews so they could satisfy the Rooney Rule—an NFL policy that requires teams to interview minority candidates for coaching and senior roles.
Despite his new Steelers position, Flores reportedly has no intention of abandoning his lawsuit.
“We congratulate Coach Flores on his new position with the Steelers and thank Coach Tomlin and the organization for giving him this great opportunity,” his lawyers Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis said in a joint statement. “While Coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL.”
