Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores expressed disappointment in the NFL’s conclusion from its investigation into alleged tanking incentives proposed by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. 

“I am thankful that the NFL’s investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross are true,” Flores said in a statement. “At the same time, I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and pressure to tank games especially when I wrote and submitted a letter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time which the investigator has in her possession. 

“There is nothing more important when it comes to the game of football itself than the integrity of the game. When the integrity of the game is called into question, fans suffer, and football suffers.” 

In February, Flores filed a bombshell class action lawsuit against the NFL, alleging that Ross attempted to bribe him in 2019, offering $100,000 per game for each loss. Miami finished the 2019 season with a 5-11 record, after beginning the year 0-7. 

The league’s investigation maintained that the Dolphins “did not intentionally lose games during the 2019 season,” noting that any comment from Ross regarding apparent incentives “was not intended or taken to be a serious offer.” 

“Coach Flores is to be commended for not allowing any comment about the relative importance of draft position to affect his commitment to win throughout the season,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. 

Flores, who was fired by the Dolphins in January, posted a 24-25 record in three seasons at the helm. After beginning the 2021 season 1-7, Miami won eight of its final nine games to finish with a respectable 9-8 record. He is now on the Steelers’ coaching staff as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach

“While we vehemently disagree with the conclusions regarding the tanking allegations, we note that the investigator confirmed the accuracy of the factual allegations made by Mr. Flores,” Flores’s attorneys wrote in a statement. “We are certainly disheartened that the investigator, and apparently the Commissioner, excused highly inappropriate comments that go to the heart of the game’s integrity regarding tanking as being in jest especially when there was a letter written by Coach Flores at the time demonstrating the gravity with which these comments were received by Coach Flores.”

Having also found that the Dolphins participated in “impermissible communications” with Tom Brady, the NFL fined Ross $1.5 million and suspended him through Oct. 17, 2022; in addition, Miami will have to forfeit its 2023 first-round pick. Those punishments, though, are for tampering — not tanking. 

Flores’s legal team thus called the outcome “inadequate and disheartening,” noting that they “look forward to continuing to push the legal process.”