3:47pm: Another Patriots connection is set to be a factor here. Jerod Mayo is expected to be a frontrunner here as well, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Bill Belichick‘s latest right-hand man on defense, Mayo spent time with both Flores and Caserio in Foxborough — as a player and assistant coach. Mayo received an interview request from the Broncos this week but has not been linked to the other jobs just yet. A Texans interview summons seems likely.
2:53pm: The David Culley and Brian Flores firings appear connected. Not long after the Dolphins surprisingly canned him, Flores has surfaced on the radar as a prime candidate to replace Culley in Houston.
The Texans have Flores positioned as the top candidate to take over as head coach, Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790 reports (on Twitter). Flores and Texans GM Nick Caserio worked together with the Patriots for over a decade, with Wilson adding the duo’s relationship remains close.
[RELATED: Texans Fire Culley After One Season]
This would be an interesting step for Flores, given the state of the Texans. The team has gone 8-25 over the past two seasons and does not have much to bank on long-term on its roster. Deshaun Watson, however, was believed to be interested in playing for Flores in Miami. That certainly does not mean the Pro Bowl quarterback would rescind his longstanding trade request, but it would be an interesting element injected into this equation.
Flores took over a Dolphins roster that was soon gutted in his first season, so the Texans would present somewhat familiar territory. The Dolphins are coming off back-to-back winning seasons, giving Flores some momentum — despite his clashes with team management — as this year’s hiring period gets going.
If they get Flores as coach and Joe Brady as offensive coordinator, it would be a great tandem of guys who unfairly took the fall this year. Not that I would wish the Texans on them.
Flores isn’t unfair if he was asking for all the power he was supposedly seeking.
I’m not sure I buy the versions of stories being leaked from Miami, but given the jobs they’ve done, doesn’t Flores deserve more power relative to Grier?
I’m not sure any coach deserves more power than the GM. That being said I’m not sure how Grier survived in Miami. He must have sold Ross some deep bull crap
Yeah, I’m not saying Flores should have had double duty or anything, but maybe he would have preferred a different GM more aligned with him, and by all external signs, that would be a fair thing for him to want.
As a Texans fan, I’d love Flores in Houston.
Hiring a LB coach as HC would be very on brand for Houston brass incompetence. If I’m Flores, I take the interview but not the job. Under no circumstance do I touch that job. Career killer.
Flores was also technically only linebackers coach for the Patriots, too, but he was the closest thing they had to a defensive coordinator. They still don’t officially have a defensive coordinator.
The last time the Texans hired a linebackers coach with a Patriots background, he ended up leaving to be a very good head coach elsewhere in the division. Maybe they’re trying to do that one over. (Not that I think that’s sound logic.)
I’m sort of ok with this. Flores turned the Dolphins around, but he wasn’t good enough for a Dolphins team that has high expectations. Maybe he can do that for the Texans, too. He’s also a very similar-type coach as Culley, so Culley’s firing would make sense somewhat if they just did it so that they could hire Flores. I still don’t see why they did it; it’s hard for players to adjust to so many new coaches. But I do definitely think Flores is the best guy for the job, and I think he will get it.