Brian Flores has the Miami Dolphins playing like a real football team. Not only is the offense starting to click, but the defense is getting stops and the special teams may be the best in the league. Even if Miami doesn’t win the division, Flores deserves coach of the year. Here’s why.
Flores falls from the Bill Belichick tree. Usually, that is a recipe for disaster. But not for Flores. His first season in Miami started rough, but somehow Flores got that team to be competitive down the stretch. That first season felt more like a sabotage job in an attempt to tank for Tua Tagovailoa, but Flores refused to let that season be worse than what it could have been.
Get This Man an Offense
The controversy surrounding the switch to Tua had to shake up that locker room. Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t even know he lost his job until his kids told him. That has to be such a gut punch. While Flores did not intend for it to happen that way, he stuck with his guns and ran out his rookie quarterback against the Los Angeles Rams. Tua’s debut was not pretty, but the Dolphins have remained undefeated since the switch.
Not only do the Dolphins have a rookie quarterback, but Tua has no weapons and no real run game. DeVante Parker is the most recognizable name in that receiving core. When I say no real run game, I mean none at all. No Dolphins running back has run for over 100 yards in a game, with Myles Gaskin being the only one to get close with 91 in a win over the Jets.
Yet Flores has this offense making plays. Granted, it’s not many, but it’s enough to get the job done. Football, more than any other sport, is a week-by-week sport. All you have to do is make enough plays, get wins, and the next thing you know you’re in the playoffs.
Explosive Plays
Look at the list of players on this Miami defense. Almost every team you go up against, you’ll probably pick the defender on the opponent’s side more often than choosing a Dolphins player. I wouldn’t blame you. The Dolphins have good players at certain positions, but overall leave much to be desired. But Brian Flores has coached this defense well. They always seem to make the big plays when you need them.
The Dolphins also get big plays from their special teams. It may be the best special teams in the league. Be it punt returns for touchdowns or blocked punts, the special teams always seems to make a big play to help the team.
The Case for Flores
Brian Flores deserves Coach of the Year. Hands down. This Dolphins team should go into almost every game as the underdog, but the coach of Flores makes games a lot closer. The success of teams in this league has a lot to do with how well-coached a team is, and how a coach plans and makes adjustments. The Dolphins are playing the third toughest schedule in the league, yet are still above .500 over halfway into the season. Unlike the Adam Gase era, the Dolphins finally have hope for the future.
Obviously, there will be arguments that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, should get it, especially if the Steelers somehow go undefeated. It’s understandable, but I’ll still defend my pick in Flores. The only thing that would stop my pick is if the Dolphins implode. But if the Dolphins still have a great record and make the playoffs, or even win the division, the title should go to Brian Flores.
