Brian Flores has returned to the NFL.
The Steelers named the former Dolphins head coach Saturday as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. Flores, who was fired by Miami following the season, subsequently sued all 32 NFL teams for discriminatory hiring practices after he was passed up for head coaching jobs this offseason, including by the Giants.
“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,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a release. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself and I look forward to adding his expertise to help our team.”
Tomlin is one of two black head coaches in the league, along with the Texans’ Lovie Smith. New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who succeeded Flores, is biracial.
Though he has returned to coaching in the NFL, Flores will not abandon the lawsuit.
Brian Flores was fired as Dolphins’ coach. Getty Images
The Steelers announced Flores’ hiring Saturday. steelers.com“While coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL,” attorneys Douglas Wigdor and John Elefterakis said in a statement Saturday.
Flores’ bombshell lawsuit had the potential to keep him from more coaching opportunities, but the Steelers have prevented that from happening.
On Thursday, the NFL hired Lorretta Lynch, who was U.S. Attorney General from 2015-17 under President Obama, to defend it in the lawsuit.
Mike Tomlin APDolphins owner Stephen Ross is at the center of the case, which alleges Ross tried to pay Flores to lose games so the team could secure a better draft position. Flores also claims the Giants and Broncos both had him interview for head coaching positions only to satisfy the Rooney Rule. Flores also claims he did not get the Texans job, which went to Smith, because of his filing of the lawsuit.
Flores’ lawsuit includes texts from Bill Belichick that indicate the Patriots coach believed Brian Daboll had the Giants job locked up before Flores’ final interview — and days before Daboll was named head coach by the Giants. Ross and the Giants have denied Flores’ claims.
The NFL has said Flores’ claims don’t have merit, but commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league will reexamine the Rooney Rule.
— With AP
