Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores proved that he could coach. He took one of the worst, if not the worst, teams in the NFL and somehow was able to win five games. One of those wins included a win at New England, knocking the Patriots out of the 2 seed and a first round bye. Flores might have been trying to win, but the Dolphins front office was not.
After 3 seasons, the Dolphins decided to fire Adam Gase and make changes across the board, including in the front office. Along with Gase, many of Miami’s big name players were traded or let go. Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ryan Tannehill and Kenyan Drake are just a few of the players the Dolphins got rid of. Why? It’s simple: Tua Tagovailoa.
Tua is one of the hottest draft prospects coming into the league next season. His tenure with Alabama is impressive enough that his recent string of injuries should not scare away teams. Until LSU quarterback Joe Burrow burst onto the scene, Tua was considered by most to be the first quarterback taken. The Dolphins front office bought into Tua. Unlike the lottery system in the NBA, the NFL Draft is simple. Whoever had the worst record picks first and you go from there. All Miami had to do was lose most or all of their games. It was a gamble that, if successful, could return the Dolphins to playoff potential and bring butts back into Hard Rock Stadium.
The problem with tanking (there are many problems) is that it can be extremely obvious to players on said tanking team. There were reports of Dolphins players telling their agents they wanted out. I do not blame them. Who wants to play for a team that is actively trying to lose? But a lone hero would stand up against the intentional sabotage put forth by the front office, and his name was Brian Flores.
Somehow, Flores was able to convince the players to buy in and play competitive football. There were some horrible losses early on, buy by season’s end Flores had the Dolphins looking like an actual football team. The fact that the Dolphins won five games with the team they had should give Miami fans hope for the future. If the Dolphins can draft well and lure some free agents, the Phins will be back in the playoffs in no time.
Unfortunately, we cannot focus on the good story that is Flores’ coaching. The true story is the sabotage that the front office tried to pull of Flores. Trading great players in an effort to tank is annoying to fans and will turn away free agents. Thankfully, they made one good decision this offseason to hire Flores. Imagine if they still had all those players and Tannehill played as good as he has with the Titans. Maybe the Dolphins are a playoff team? Maybe not. We will never know.
