Brian Flores was the head football coach of the Miami Dolphins before being fired from the team. In the weeks that followed many things have been said about Flores some we just do not know if they are true or not. Players really have not supported him or took shots at him so it’s anyone’s guess. This week Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against some teams for their hiring practices as he has yet to receive a job offer since he has been fired. Does his lawsuit have merit? In this article we will take a look at it and why it could be successful and also a failure as well.
The Rooney Rule is what the lawsuit will be based on. What the Rooney states is you must give minority candidates job interviews and be sincere in hiring them, when you bring them in for the interview. The NFL put this in place to try and get more minority hires as head coaches. Thus far the rule really hasn’t help but a mouthpiece that says we followed the rule when someone is hired. Some of the lawsuit is based on the Rooney Rule and this will be interesting how this plays out in the courtroom.
Should Brian Flores have a job by now? The honest answer is yes. Everywhere he has coached he has made his teams competitive and Miami was no exception. Many people have said Brian Flores is tough to work with and that could be true. Most winning head coaches at times can be tough to work with no matter whom it happens to be.
Brian Flores has several job interviews and every time the owners said great interview, but he was never offered a job. Is he qualified? Brian Flores is more then qualified for any job in the NFL. The Rooney Rule was suppose to fix the problem, but in reality I think it has did the opposite. Teams are less inclined to hire coaches of minority as they feel they are being forced to hire a certain individual.
Owners for the most part are from old school hiring and do not like to change what they do. Most coaches in the NFL these days are rehires from other teams that lost their jobs or did well in other places. Most minority coaches are overlooked because it’s the mentality that these owners have right now. It’s not fair, but it is how it works. Maybe a lawsuit is something that needs to be the catalyst to get teams and the NFL to change things.
It seems one thing that has happen with this lawsuit already is other coaches have come forward to tell their stories as well, Brian Flores is not the only coach who has had this problem. Bringing this out in the open is exactly what we need to do to make the NFL understand there is a problem in the hiring process.
Brian Flores is giving up a lot to go forward with this lawsuit. He may never coach in the NFL again. This is bigger then a job this is about doing the right thing and changing the NFL hiring process. There are so many great minority prospects there is no excuse for not having more minority hiring then we get every year. At worst, maybe this will shed light on the practicing of keeping good guys who are qualified with out a coaching opportunity. The other thing this has also showed us is the art of tanking can be a viable option for teams. Tanking should never be part of the NFL and teams should always strive to win. Its cheating the fans who pay hard earned money to see teams. Let’s hope The NFL makes some changes and this lawsuit makes some changes in the process.
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