Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is back in the NFL. Flores, who is currently suing the National Football League (NFL) for racial discrimination, was recently signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to be their new senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” said Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin in a statement. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
After three seasons with the Dolphins, Flores was fired in January 2022, although he still had two years left on his contract. Earlier this month, Flores filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and Dolphins, alleging racial discrimination in their hiring practices.
According to Flores, the Broncos and Giants staged “fake” interviews with him only to comply with an NFL rule that requires teams to interview minority candidates for the head coach position. Flores also alleges that Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for each game he lost during the 2019 season, so the team could get a higher draft pick. He also says Ross asked him to work on recruiting a quarterback under contract with another team, which would’ve been a violation of the NFL’s tampering policy.
Despite Flores still having a role on an NFL team this coming season, there are plenty of his supporters who feel that a team should have hired him for a head coaching position instead.
The Steelers are one of the only four teams in the entire NFL that currently have a minority head coach (Mike Tomlin). The others are Lovie Smith with the Houston Texans, Ron Rivera with the Washington Commanders, and Robert Saleh with the New York Jets.