Many of the coaches who've worked under New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick have not fared well when getting the opportunity to be the head coach of their own team, and the Miami Dolphins are hoping Brian Flores will be the outlier to this trend.
Flores was hired by the Dolphins in February after helping lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl LIII victory as linebackers coach. The 38-year-old is one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL and one of six entering the 2019 season with less than a year of head coaching experience.
Learning under Belichick does have its benefits, though, and Flores recently revealed in an interview with The Boston Globe's Ben Volin one important takeaway from his time working with the legendary Patriots coach.
When asked about the greatest lesson he learned from Belichick, Flores said, “Put the team first.” One of Belichick’s most-used phrases is, ‘We do what’s in the best interests of the team.’
“Whether that’s moving on from coaches, moving on from players, a decision that’s made in-game or from a personnel standpoint,” Flores said. “You always want to do what’s in the best interest of this organization.”
This is a good approach for Flores to take. And let's make no mistake -- there's a lot of work to do in Miami.
The Patriots have made 16 playoff appearances and won six Super Bowl championships over the last 18 seasons. The Dolphins have two Wild Card round losses and 12 (!) losing seasons over the same span. Miami hasn't reached an AFC Championship Game since 1985 or a Super Bowl since 1984.
Flores is taking over a roster that struggled on both sides of the football last season. Miami ranked 26th in points scored and 27th in points allowed in 2018.
New England Patriots
The Dolphins' early regular season schedule is brutal. They play the Baltimore Ravens, Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers (in that order) in September before a Week 5 bye. We should find out fairly quickly into the 2019 season if the Dolphins are going to make a quick turnaround with Flores at the helm.
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