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Brian Flores

Dolphins Likely To Hire Brian Flores

January 11th, 2019 at 4:11pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have narrowed the focus of their head coaching search to Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. There’s no deal yet and nothing official, but Flores is “their target,” according to Rapoport. 

Because the Patriots are still in the playoffs, they cannot formally hire Flores until the Pats are finished. In theory, that could be dicey for the Dolphins, especially after the Colts got gypped by another Patriots assistant in last year’s cycle. However, given McDaniels’ inability to gain real traction for head coaching jobs this year, it seems unlikely that Flores would risk his reputation with a flip-flop.

Flores has become a far more attractive candidate than he was a year ago, when the Cardinals met with him about their HC opening. The 37-year-old de facto defensive coordinator has been considered a leading candidate in Miami ever since the New Year began, and he’s now primed to take over Adam Gase‘s old post.

The Patriots turned to Flores as their top defensive assistant following Matt Patricia‘s defection to Detroit, but he was not awarded the DC title right away. Presumably, he’d get that title by staying put for 2019, but the allure of a head coaching job will probably pull him away from the nest.

In 2018, the Patriots ranked 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring. The Pats have only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons and Flores has been a part of their past eight defensive coaching staffs.

Coaching Rumors: Packers, LaFleur, Rhule

January 7th, 2019 at 7:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Matt LaFleur has the Packers job and he has Rams coach Sean McVay to thank. The two are close friends and it’s likely that McVay lobbied for him, Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel tweets.

McVay employed LaFleur as his offensive coordinator in 2017, but McVay called the plays himself. Then, last offseason, he allowed LaFleur to fly the coop and call plays for the Titans. Without that stepping stone, LaFleur probably wouldn’t have gotten the big gig in Green Bay.

Meanwhile, the Packers are over the moon about LaFleur because his offensive focus will allow the club to keep defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and the rest of the staff, provided that LaFleur is not keen on making major changes.

Here’s the latest round of coaching rumors from around the NFL:

AFC Coaching Notes: Bengals, Dolphins, Jets

January 6th, 2019 at 3:12pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Bengals have already interviewed eight candidates (and attempted to meet with a ninth) for their head coaching position, but their search could expand in the coming days, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Cincinnati has interest in assistants who were coaching during Wild Card weekend, but preferred not to disturb those coaches in advance of such critical games. While no new names have yet surfaced, potential candidates who coached this weekend Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard, Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale, Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, and Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.

Here’s more from the AFC coaching carousel:

  • As had been expected, Richard will interview with the Dolphins and Jets today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “It doesn’t surprise me at all that clubs have the interest that they have in him,” said Jones. “There are no secrets in the NFL when it comes to people that can help you win football games. And he’s a winner.” Assistants preparing for a Wild Card playoff matchup aren’t allowed to interview in the week preceding said game, so Richard had to wait until Dallas completed its victory over Seattle on Saturday night. Richard is also meeting with the Buccaneers on Sunday.
  • In a bit of record-keeping, the Dolphins announced that they completed their head coaching interview with Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen on Saturday, while the Browns did the same with Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Allen, 46, flopped as the Raiders’ head coach earlier this decade, but has transformed New Orleans’ defense from a laughingstock to a respectable unit over the past four seasons. Flores, meanwhile, interviewed for only one head coaching job in 2018 (Cardinals), but has lined up four sit-downs in the 2019 cycle (Broncos, Packers, and Dolphins in addition to Browns).
  • Broncos offensive line coach Sean Kugler and linebackers coach Reggie Herring are drawing interest from around the league, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. However, both assistants are still under contract with Denver, and the Broncos presumably won’t let either leave until their new head coach decides if he wants to retain them. Kugler, previously the head coach at UTEP, joined Denver in 2018 and guided a Broncos front five which ranked as a top-12 unit in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate. Herring came to Denver in 2015 after having coached with Houston, Dallas, and Chicago.

Coaching Notes: McCarthy, Jets, Saints, Lions, Falcons

January 5th, 2019 at 10:10am CST by Ben Levine

Mike McCarthy will be interviewing for the Jets‘ head coaching vacancy today, reports NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). We previously heard that the organization was going to interview the former Packers head coach.

The two sides seem like a logical pairing. Considering McCarthy’s connection with future Hall of Famer quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the organization would seemingly see him as a fit with rookie Sam Darnold. Meanwhile, McCarthy would surely be attracted by the team’s $100MM+ in cap space.

We heard earlier this week that McCarthy was looking to stay close to his two high-school aged stepchildren in Green Bay. That would be a positive for suitors like the Jets and Browns, and it may explain why McCarthy ultimately wasn’t interested in the Cardinals gig.

Let’s check out some more coaching rumblings from around the NFL…

  • It will be a busy day for Saints coaches. As Albert Breer tweets, assistant head coach Dan Campbell will be meeting with the Packers and Cardinals, Dennis Allen is interviewing with the Dolphins, and Pete Carmichael will be meeting with Green Bay. Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport provides an update (via Twitter) on Patriots linebackers coach (and de facto defensive coordinator) Brian Flores, who will be meeting with the Browns and Broncos today.
  • Lions general manager Bob Quinn made it clear that he isn’t in any rush to find a replacement for former offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. “There’s no timetable,” Quinn said (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “We’re just going to get this right. There’s no rush. The way this works in the NFL is you can’t talk to people that are employed by other teams, so there’s a waiting period if teams are still playing. So our candidate pool is pretty wide right now, so we’re going to keep it wide until it narrows down and then we’ll go hire the right guy.” Quinn also noted that the decision will “primarily” be made by head coach Matt Patricia.
  • Similarly, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn won’t be making a decision on a new offensive coordinator in the upcoming days. “I would say there’s nothing to announce today,” Quinn said (via ESPN’s Vaughn McClure). “I’m not going to put like two weeks or a week [on it], but it’s not in the next few days.” Quinn also noted that quarterback Matt Ryan may have a say in the who gets hired. “Well, I think Matt has input because of his familiarity with the offense,” Quinn said. “But as far as going to select people, that’s not part of his influence. … He has a part of it, but not part of who, if that makes sense.” The Falcons fired all three of their coordinators (offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong) earlier this week. The team has reportedly interviewed former Falcons coordinator Mike Mularkey for the offensive position, and they’re also eyeing former Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.

Coaching/FO Rumors: Browns, Fins, Packers

January 3rd, 2019 at 6:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Browns were originally scheduled to meet with Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski on Monday, but they’ve moved that interview to today, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stefanski, who was elevated to offensive coordinator in Minnesota following John DeFilippo‘s firing, is in consideration for Cleveland’s head coaching job. While the Vikings are still interested in retaining Stefanski, he’s no longer under contract. Meanwhile, the Giants — who attempted to lure Stefanski to New York last offseason — won’t pursue Stefanski this year, as head coach Pat Shurmur told Mike Francesa of WFAN (Twitter link via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com).

Here’s more from the coaching/front office carousel:

  • Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores has a busy week lined up, as he’s drawn interest from not only the Broncos, Browns, Dolphins, and Packers. It’s still unclear if/when Flores will interview with Cleveland, but he’ll meet with Green Bay on Friday, tweets Demovsky. Packers management is scheduled to fly to the New England area that day to sit down with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, so they’ll stick around to meet with Flores. Flores is also scheduled to interview for the Miami gig on Thursday and Friday, while Mike Klis of 9News reports (via Twitter) the Broncos will fly to New England to sit down with Flores on Saturday (previous reports had indicated Denver would meet with Flores on Monday).
  • Cowboys defensive backs coach Kris Richard is expected to interview with the Jets and Dolphins on Sunday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Assistants preparing for a Wild Card playoff matchup aren’t allowed to interview in the week preceding said game, so Richard will have to wait until Dallas completes its contest against Seattle on Saturday night. Richard is also a candidate for the Buccaneers’ head coaching job, although it’s unclear when that interview will take place.
  • General manager Reggie McKenzie isn’t the only Raiders executive without a job at season’s end, as Oakland has also fired director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, tweets Jim Trotter of NFL.com. Clinkscales, a high school and college teammate of McKenzie’s, was the ex-Raiders GM’s top assistant, so it’s perhaps unsurprising Oakland made the decision to ax him, as well. A former scout with the Steelers and executive with the Jets, Clinkscales was named on the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s list of recommended minority GM candidates last month.

Coaching Notes: Vikings, Fins, Bills, Broncos

January 3rd, 2019 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

When Mike Zimmer signed a Vikings extension in the 2016 offseason, the terms were not disclosed. But the sixth-year Minnesota coach revealed Thursday 2019 is the final year of his contract. While another extension could be on the way, Zimmer is, as of now, a lame-duck leader. The 62-year-old coach said he would not resign nor retire until his contract was up. It’s not unheard of for a coach to venture through a contract year, but it is obviously abnormal. The Vikings have qualified for the playoffs twice in Zimmer’s five years but were one of this season’s most disappointing teams, falling short of January football despite a roster full of extended veterans.

Here is the latest from the coaching circuit:

  • Elsewhere on the Vikings’ staff, the team is working to re-sign special teams coordinator Mike Preifer, Alex Marvez of Sirius XM Radio reports (on Twitter). Minnesota is, however, exploring alternatives in case a re-up is not finalized. Preifer has been Minnesota’s ST coordinator since 2011. Preifer did not sign the rollover option after last season, per ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin (Twitter link), making him a coaching free agent next week.
  • Brian Flores is set to meet with four teams in the coming days, and the Patriots linebackers coach’s first stop appears to be Miami. The Dolphins are making Flores their first interview, which Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets will begin Thursday night and last into Friday. Flores is slated to meet with the Browns, Broncos and Packers as well.
  • Another coach up for the Broncos‘ job, Zac Taylor is not the favorite going into the interview process, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. That could be expected of a 35-year-old position coach, and it could indicate the Broncos are serious about bringing Gary Kubiak back to the sideline as their OC. John Elway said a coaching role for Kubiak was being considered. A Taylor hire would seemingly impede this, but former Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said the similarities between the Rams’ offense and Kubiak’s Denver attack helped him assimilate quickly in Los Angeles. Mike Klis of 9News wonders if this could make a Taylor-Kubiak setup possible, with Klint Kubiak moving up to quarterbacks coach.
  • Flores’ Broncos interview will occur Monday. So will Vic Fangio‘s, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold. Taylor and Mike Munchak will interview for the job on Friday. The Broncos finished their Chuck Pagano meeting Wednesday.
  • The Bills are moving on from two assistants, including special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, per ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (on Twitter). As ESPN’s Seth Walder notes (via Twitter), Buffalo finished this season with the NFL’s worst special teams efficiency rating. Buffalo also fired wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie, Marvez tweets. Twice an interim head coach, with the Redskins and Browns, Robiskie just completed his 37th season as an NFL coach. He’s been a wideouts coach for five teams; Crossman was a pre-Sean McDermott-era holdover, joining the Bills’ staff as ST coordinator in 2013.
  • Detroit will move on from another offensive assistant, firing Derius Swinton, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter). Just 33, Swinton has already been an NFL assistant for 10 seasons, serving as the 49ers’ ST coordinator in 2016. Although he helped in that area in Detroit following Joe Marciano‘s midseason firing, his primary role was on offense. The Lions and OC Jim Bob Cooter parted ways this week. Despite serving under Cooter, Swinton was a Matt Patricia hire.

Coaching Notes: Packers, Bucs, Broncos

January 1st, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite Pat Fitzgerald emphatically proclaiming he was staying at Northwestern following Monday night’s Holiday Bowl win, the Packers are still going to make an attempt to interview him, Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. The Packers were expected to reach out with an interview request, with GM Brian Gutekunst expressing great admiration for the Northwestern coach and Packers president Mark Murphy having hired Fitzgerald when he was at Northwestern, but nothing has transpired yet. The 13-year Wildcats leader said Northwestern was “not going anywhere” and Chicago was “home forever.” Mike McCarthy made more than $8MM last season, according to Silverstein and Owczarski, who suspect the Packers may have to offer at least that — despite Fitzgerald having never coached in the NFL — to entice the 44-year-old college coach. The Packers have thus far requested interviews with Josh McDaniels, Mike Munchak, Dan Campbell, Matt LaFleur and Brian Flores.

Here is the latest from the coaching front on New Year’s Day:

  • The Buccaneers will have a chance to interview Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards. The parties will meet Thursday for a head coach meeting, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Thus far on the coaching carousel, Edwards — the Vikings’ DC for the past five seasons and formerly the Bills’ and Redskins’ DC — has only been connected to Tampa Bay’s vacancy.
  • Gary Kubiak may well be returning to the sideline, in a non-HC capacity. Kubiak stepped down from his role as the Broncos‘ head coach after the 2016 season, citing health concerns, but John Elway said his longtime friend may end up as part of Denver’s 2019 offensive staff. “We’ll see. We’re still in that process,” Elway said. “We still have a lot of things to go over before that, but I think it could be where it is, it could be on the offensive side [as a coach]. We’ll see what that role may be, but Gary will be around.” Kubiak has worked in the Broncos’ front office the past two years. Denver is expected to interview Vic Fangio, Flores and Chuck Pagano (while also set to meet with Rams QBs coach Zac Taylor and Steelers OL coach Mike Munchak). Going defense for a second straight hire would point to Kubiak being in line to take over as offensive coordinator.
  • Dan Quinn‘s Falcons staff continues to undergo changes. The Falcons have parted ways with tight ends coach Wade Harman, multiple sources tell Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Harman had served in this role for four seasons and had been with the Falcons for five, operating as Atlanta’s offensive line coach in 2014.
  • The Bills‘ offensive line coach and run-game coordinator the past two years, Juan Castillo received his walking papers on Tuesday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. Castillo has worked on both sides of the ball, serving as the Eagles’ DC from 2011-12 before shifting back to offense in his roles since.
  • Despite going 4-12, the 49ers will not shake up their staff. Robert Saleh will stay on as San Francisco’s DC, doing so after his unit set NFL records for fewest interceptions (two) in a season and takeaways (seven) in a season. Kyle Shanahan said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle) his entire staff will be back in 2019.

Brian Flores To Meet With Browns, Broncos, Dolphins, Packers

January 1st, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The latest Patriots playoff bye week will bring quite the workload for linebackers coach Brian Flores.

While he is still arranging his schedule, he has agreed to meet with the Browns, Broncos, Dolphins and Packers about their head coaching vacancies, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). These interviews will occur this weekend.

After previously omitting the Broncos, who requested a meeting with Flores, La Canfora reports they will meet with the aspiring head coach. The Bucs, though, are not set to meet with the Patriot assistant this week, JLC tweets.

These four teams requested summits with Flores, and he will oblige. Flores has become a far more attractive candidate than he was a year ago, when the Cardinals met with him about their HC opening. Arizona again has an opening, but the team has not as of yet requested another audience with New England’s 37-year-old de facto defensive coordinator.

The Patriots turned to Flores as their top defensive assistant following Matt Patricia‘s defection to Detroit.

New England’s first post-Patricia defense has been the team’s typical bend-but-don’t-break unit, ranking 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring. The Pats have only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons; Flores has been a part of their past eight defensive coaching staffs.

Cardinals, Packers Request To Interview Saints’ Dan Campbell

December 31st, 2018 at 6:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2015 Dolphins’ interim coach, Dan Campbell has spent the past three seasons as the Saints’ tight ends boss. He looks set to re-enter the coaching carousel.

In addition to receiving a Browns interview request, Campbell has heard from the Cardinals and Packers about hopeful meetings, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (on Twitter).

Also carrying the title of assistant head coach in New Orleans, Campbell was connected to the Colts’ post-Josh McDaniels job search last year and interviewed for the Vikings’ OC job that eventually went to John DeFilippo. Prior to being promoted to the Dolphins’ HC in the wake of Joe Philbin‘s early-season firing three years ago, Campbell had been Miami’s tight ends coach for more than four years.

The Cardinals and Packers have been busy with interview requests on the first day of non-playoff-qualifying teams’ offseasons. After already meeting with Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano, Green Bay sent out requests for powwows with Titans OC Matt LaFleur, Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, Northwestern HC Pat Fitzgerald and Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, who has not yet decided which interviews he will take. The Broncos, Browns, Dolphins and Packers have sent Flores meeting requests.

Arizona has contacted Rams QBs coach Zac Taylor and Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, whom the Jets, Buccaneers and Dolphins have also contacted. The Cardinals interviewed Flores earlier this year.

Latest On Browns’ Coaching Search

December 31st, 2018 at 11:09am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A flurry of head coaching moves have been made last night and this morning, but one team already had a significant head start on the process. The Browns were the first team to move on from their coach, firing Hue Jackson after eight games, and have had a while to formulate a plan. The team went 5-3 after moving on from Jackson, and might have the most attractive opening of any team with Baker Mayfield looking like a star in the making.

The Browns’ first step in the process will be to interview Gregg Williams tomorrow, GM John Dorsey revealed at a press conference this morning, per Pat McManamon of ESPN (Twitter link). Williams is the interim coach right now and although he isn’t expected to land the full time job, Cleveland’s strong play down the stretch certainly earned him consideration. Dorsey also said that offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who has drawn rave reviews for his work with Mayfield, will get an interview although he wasn’t sure when that would occur.

Meanwhile, the Browns have also requested to interview Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). Flores is in his first year calling plays, but is highly regarded around the league and was a candidate for the Cardinals’ job last year. The Browns are also expected to interview former Titans head coach and current Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak, according to Alex Marvez of Sporting News (Twitter link). We heard earlier this morning that the Broncos have interest in Munchak as well, who’s earned a ton of praise for his work with the Steelers and is instrumental in Pittsburgh and far more influential than your average offensive line coach.

We first heard late last night that the Browns had reached out to Mike McCarthy, and while he wouldn’t confirm anything, Dorsey certainly didn’t throw cold water on the rumors. Dorsey said he has “a lot of respect for Mike McCarthy and what he’s done”, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Dorsey also praised Kitchens, saying the first time coordinator has “done [a] wonderful job developing [a] relationship with” Mayfield, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal (Twitter link).

As soon as Adam Gase was fired by the Dolphins, he was immediately linked to Cleveland. Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets that Gase going to the Browns is a “very real possibility”, and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network followed up with a tweet saying Peyton Manning, a very close friend of Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, is a “big fan” of Gase. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk tweeted that Haslam “aggressively pursued” Gase five years ago, “but Gase decided to wait to become a head coach.”

The Browns have also put in a request to interview Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Campbell has been a popular darkhorse candidate for some jobs, and impressed during his brief stint as the Dolphins’ interim head coach in 2015. In addition to Campbell, Rapoport tweets they requested an interview with Vikings interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

Two last candidates for the Browns are Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets that the Browns have submitted an interview request for him, and Colts offensive Nick Sirianni is also on their interview list Pelissero tweets separately. Adam Schefter followed up on Pelissero’s report by tweeting that while the Browns do want to interview Eberflus, they won’t be able to this week with the Colts playing a playoff game this weekend, and the same presumably goes for Sirianni.

Cleveland will be one of the most buzzed about teams in the coming days and weeks, and we should know a lot more about their intentions soon, and they’re clearly casting a very wide net. At this point, it still seems most likely that they’ll pursue an offensive coach to pair with Mayfield despite their reported interest in Flores and Eberflus.

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