Dolphins fans watched Super Bowl LIII with hope and excitement. The New England Patriots faced off against the Los Angeles Rams. With the Rams averaging 33 points per game and ranking second in offense, this matchup between two heavyweight teams was expected to be high scoring affair.
Instead, we saw the Patriots hold the Rams to just three points.
Brian Flores, the future coach of the Miami Dolphins was the defensive play-caller for the New England Patriots. The Dolphins brass slept well that night, believing that they were making the right choice in Coach Flores.
Dolphins Announce the Hiring of Brian Flores as Head Coach
Then the regular season started, Miami lost their first four games: 59-10, 43-0, 31-6, and 30-10. Meanwhile, New England’s defense was still rolling, holding opponents to 27 total points over the same four game span. Not to mention, the 43-0 loss Miami suffered came in hands of New England in week two.
This immediately felt like buyers remorse, Brian Flores was starting to look like another Bill Belichick disciple that could not cut it as a NFL head coach.
Takes No Talent
Flores instituted many unique coaching tactics. There were pop quizzes for players and the infamous T.N.T. (Takes No Talent) wall.
I must admit after seeing the first few on-field performances; I agreed! The Dolphins had no talent. It also takes no talent to get blown out each week.
Nonetheless, coach Flores had a different thought in mind. T.N.T. was a phrase that he adopted from his high-school coach, Dino Mangiero.
The wall was there to help remind players that they all were talented, nevertheless, if they were not focused and discipline, they would not be successful.
The Turning Point
The message seemed to connect with the players in Week 6 against the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins went back to Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in the 4th quarter after being benched earlier in the season in favor of Josh Rosen.
The game came down to a failed two point conversion on a dropped pass by Kenyan Drake. This was after the team rallied back from being down 17-3 going into the fourth quarter. The Dolphins lost by one point. The world said Miami was tanking, but Flores made a statement to his team that day.
Coach Flores wanted to win!
With the exception of the game against the Cleveland Browns, the Miami Dolphins were competitive in the remaining games of the 2019 season.
There were some notable wins along the way also. The first win for Brian Flores was against his predecessor Adam Gase and the New York Jets.
Following that game, Jets fans were calling for Gase to be fired! This was more vindication for anyone affiliated with the Miami Dolphins.
“Coach Flo isn’t the type to back down from anything.” said Patriots linebacker Donta’a Hightower about his former coach.
In week 17 of the 2019 season, the Dolphins faced off against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots were practically invincible with Brady at quarterback on their home-field. New England also had everything to play for. A win for the Patriots would secure the #2 seed and a first-round playoff bye-week.
Many might have said the Dolphins had nothing to play for coming into the game with four wins. Some might have argued that it would have been in the team’s best interest to lose in order to secure a higher draft-pick. Flores was not one of these people.
Brian Flores had his team prepared for their final game, ending the season with an impressive 27-24 win over the New England Patriots.
Coach Flo exceeded expectations in his first year as Miami’s head-coach. The bar is now raised.
The Dolphins are building a team with hopes of making the team’s Fight Song relevant again and Brian Flores is the right man for the job.
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