Brian Flores has the evidence that the Giants were just playing with him.
The former Dolphins head coach has filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Giants, and the rest of the league's teams, accusing them of racial discrimination. In the Giants' case specifically, Flores alleges he was a token interview to satisfy the Rooney Rule instead of a legitimate candidate for the team's now-filled head coach position. The Giants decided to hire Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, but that decision came well before Flores interviewed for the job, according to Flores and the lawsuit. Text messages included in the lawsuit between Flores and Bill Belichick — who seemingly confused the two Brians — show the Patriots head coach congratulating Flores for landing the Giants head coaching job when he apparently thought he was texting Daboll about the position. Here's the real headline: Flores knows this because Bill Belichick mistakenly congratulated him, not Brian Daboll, three days before the interview. (images from the complaint) Belichick (BB): Sounds like you have landed — congrats!! Brian Flores (BF): Did you hear something I didn't hear? BB: Giants?!?!?!?!?! BF: I interview on Thursday. I think I have a shot at it BB: Got it - I hear from Buffalo & NYG that you are their guy. Hope it works out if you want it to!! BF: That's definitely what I want! I hope you're right coach. Thank you. Coach, are you talking to Brian Flores or Brian Daboll. Just making sure. BB: Sorry - I f—ed this up. I double checked & I misread the text. I think they are naming Daboll. I'm sorry about that. BB BF: Thanks Bill The Giants, who hired former Bills front office executive Joe Schoen as their new general manager, officially named Daboll their coach this week. They also interviewed Flores and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who is Black, for their head coaching vacancy. The team released a statement Tuesday defending its interview process. "We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll," the statement read. "We interviewed and impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach." The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday in federal court, paints a damning picture of the Dolphins organization, owner Stephen Ross, and the interview experiences Flores had with the Giants and the Broncos. Flores is coming off a 9-8 season with the Dolphins and was surprisingly fired in early January.
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"I have always believed the sport of football is an 'all-in' proposition -- if a 100% competitive commitment isn't there, you won't succeed, and success is what I love so much about our game. There is a physical, mental and emotional challenge EVERY single day that has allowed me to maximize my highest potential. And I have tried my very best these past 22 years. There are no shortcuts to success on the field or in life. "This is difficult for me to write, but here it goes: I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore. I have loved my NFL career, and now it is time to focus my time and energy on other things that require my attention. I've done a lot of reflecting the past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, it's best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes." Tom Brady retires from the NFL with: A combined Regular season/Playoff record of 278-85-0 A win percentage of .766% 8,428 completions 13,172 attempts 64.00% completion rate 97,569 passing yards 710 TDs 242 INTs 10x Super Bowl appearances 7x Super Bowl wins 5x Super Bowl MVPs 3x NFL MVPs 2x NFL OPOY 6x All Pro 15x Pro Bowl selection 5x Passing TD leader 4x Passing Yards leader 2x Passer rating leader 2x NFL All Decade team (2000s, 2010s) NFL 100th Anniversary team 2x Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the year And, for the really fun part? Tom Brady: Playoff starts: 47. That's one game shy of 3 full 16-game seasons. Tom Brady played in the NFL for 22 years...but in reality? He played 25 season's worth. Ridiculous. See you in Canton, Tom. Bengals/Chiefs
- Joe Burrow can ball. - I am beginning to wonder if Patrick Mahomes II is more Aaron Rodgers than he is Tom Brady...He got his 1 Super Bowl win, is he now destined to spend the rest of his career losing in the AFC title game every year? It's not often that you can honestly say Mahomes played terrible...but he played terrible. He was bouncing around, he was extremely indecisive, and when flushed from the pocket by the Bengals pass rush, rather than just throw the ball out of bounds and live to see another down, he held on to the ball, to take the big sack, backing the Chiefs up... - Did the Chiefs and Bengals swap uniforms at halftime? Rams/49ers - Dude should have been ejected for that helmet shot. No way that wasn't deliberate, with the way he had to intentionally dive down to deliver that hit. - Sean McVay is damn lucky that the Rams burning through their 2nd half time outs that quickly didn't bite him in the ass at the end. - Dear every Lions fan who called him "Statt Paddford" or "Padd Statford" or some variation of: Kindly STFU. Stafford's backers were right, you were wrong. Accept the loss. He's in the Super Bowl, after winning 3 straight Playoff games. - Seeing Odell comfort Deebo Samuel right after the game was kinda heartwarming. - WTF is up with Cooper Kupp? He makes the most ridiculous catches, and then drops balls that are RIGHT IN HIS HANDS, with nobody around him... SUPER BOWL - So, now that we know the matchup is the Bengals vs. the Rams, who ya got? Personally, I gotta stick with my homeboy, #9. A Super Bowl win here, in just his first season out of Detroit, and it will be hard for anyone to claim Stafford isn't a future Hall of Famer... Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement Thursday morning after 18 seasons in the NFL.
The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback made the anticipated announcement via Twitter, officially marking the end of one of the most decorated careers in NFL history. "I don't know how to put into words what the game of football has meant to me and what a blessing it has been," Roethlisberger said. "While I know with confidence I have given my all to the game, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all it has given me. A boy from Finley, Ohio with NFL dreams, developed at Oxford at Miami University, blessed with the honor of 18 seasons as a Pittsburgh Steeler and a place to call home. The journey has been exhilarating, defined by relationships and fueled by a spirit of competition. Yet, the time has come to clean out my locker, hang up my cleats, and continue to be all I can be to my wife and children. I retire from football a truly grateful man." The 39-year-old Roethlisberger had indicated the move was coming, and though there was perhaps a chance that he could extend his career with another franchise, he will retire as a member of the Steelers, holding nearly every notable franchise QB record. In his time with the Steelers, one of the league's most storied franchises, Roethlisberger reached an NFL-record 18 seasons without ever having a losing campaign. With Roethlisberger at the helm, the Steelers were always in the mix, culminating with a Super Bowl XL win with head coach Bill Cowher and a Super Bowl XLIII triumph alongside Mike Tomlin. He led the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances in all (Pittsburgh lost Super Bowl XLV to Green Bay), 12 postseason berths and eight division titles. Statistically speaking, Roethlisberger's career is among the all-time greats. He finishes his career ranked eighth in passing touchdowns (418), and fifth in passing yards (64,088), completions (5,440) and attempts (8,443). In terms of the Steelers, Roethlisberger is the franchise standard in QB wins, passing yards, passing TDs, completions, attempts, 300-yard passing games, game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks. Roethlisberger's 165 wins are the second-most behind Tom Brady with New England for most QB wins in a career with a single team. Where to even begin? Every single Divisional Round game was worth watching until the very end, three of them decided by last second Field Goals, and the other one decided in Overtime, after a last second Field Goal tied the game up...And that last 2 minutes of the Bills/Chiefs? DAMN, that was fun. Starting with the AFC game...the Cincinnati Bengals have been fun to watch, as they forced Ryan Tannehill into mistakes that cost the Titans dearly...meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs proved why are the class of the AFC. 13 seconds. 13 seconds away from the Bills going to the AFC title game...and somehow, you just kinda knew the Chiefs would find a way... The Chiefs are a better football team than the Bengals are. They have the experience, they have the talent, and they have the home crowd. The Bengals have a young team, that doesn't really care if the Chiefs are better. The Titans were better than they were too, and yet, here the Bengals are, still playing, while the Titans are packing up their lockers for the season. And now the NFC game. The San Francisco 49ers just refuse to die. I really don't know what to make of this team. They completely silenced the powerful Cowboys offense in the Wildcard round, and they made Aaron Rodgers look human in the Divisional game...now they play the Rams, who they narrowly defeated in Week 18, just to earn their playoff spot. But, then again, Matt Stafford and the Rams just beat Tom Brady, in Tampa. Matt Stafford went from being 0-3 in the playoffs with the Detroit Lions, to being 2-0 in the Playoffs with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams have made it clear they view this season as a Super Bowl or bust, based on the moves they made. They have a high powered offense, and they know how to use it. The 49ers are winning as the underdog, with a ferocious defense that gives up yards, but doesn't give up many points. Something will have to give. If the 49ers can do to Stafford, what they did to Prescott and Rodgers, San Francisco could find itself prepping for the Super Bowl...if Matt Stafford can throw over the 49ers defense though, Matt Stafford could find himself in the Super Bowl, one year out of Detroit. Six teams have already been eliminated from the Playoffs during Wildcard week, now it is time to whittle that number down even further, going from 8 remaining teams down to the final 4...
Here's what the docket looks like for this weekend: Saturday, January 22, 2022 Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans, 4:30pm CBS San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers, 8:15pm, FOX Sunday, January 23, 2022 Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3:00pm, NBC Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs, 6:30pm, CBS Ok. Those are the matchups. Unless you are fan of one of the other teams, it seems to me the two games that really stand out are both of the NFC games. San Francisco completely shut down the potent Cowboys offense, can they shut down MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers too? Can the Packers offense, which, let's be honest, is mostly "Aaron Rodgers + 10 other guys", solve the stingy 49er defense? The 49ers give up yards, but are tied for 3rd in points given up... Then, on Sunday, we get the Rams/Bucs. Stafford vs. Brady. Stafford proved with a competent team around him, he can win in the playoffs last week...but Tom Brady is Tom Brady... Predictions: Titans, 49ers, Bucs, Chiefs. Texans fire HC David Culley: He was done the second Caserio was hired
A 4-13 record is not very impressive, but that actually met expectations for the Texans. Their projected win total heading into 2021 was four wins, so they matched that total. From that perspective, firing David Culley wasn't warranted, especially after just one season. However, there's more to this decision, and that would be Culley's horrendous job of handling the players. He constantly clashed with some of his better players and even was forced into cutting Zach Cunningham for that reason. Culley created a toxic environment in the locker room, so it was difficult to see him have long-term success for that season. Besides, the Texans can find a much better coach than Culley like Brian Flores, Jim Harbaugh or Jim Caldwell. All three would be huge upgrades. I wouldn't be surprised to see Flores or Jerod Mayo as the favorites for this job. I also added the Giants one from the other day: Giants fire HC Joe Judge: Makes Sense The Giants didn't fire Joe Judge on Black Monday, leading some to speculate that they would retain him for another year. This may have started a revolt among Giants fans, so this makes a lot of sense Judge's tenure with New York was a disaster. The Giants went 10-23 under his watch, and they weren't remotely competitive in many of their losses. They were blown out in every game down the stretch of the 2021 season, and they drew the ire of the fans when they made asinine play calls like running a quarterback sneak on a third-and-8. Furthermore, players had gotten worse under Judge. Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay are some of the players who regressed under Judge's watch and the axe tends to fall in the coach, even if players regress The Giants have had a lot of issues and I don't think Judge was the right guy to solve them. Judge may be the right guy years down the road for a team but he needs a ton more experience than he has right now. I think the Giants go looking for an experienced coach with an offensive pedigree. They need to show they didn't waste a first round pick on their QB so I think they go Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has long been considered to be favorite to win the NFL MVP award this year...and with the success of the Packers, it's not surprising why. But, are we looking past other MVP candidates, players who are as deserving, if not more deserving to win than Rodgers?
Let's have a look. First, let's start with the Packers QB. Rodgers has thrown for 4,115 yards in 16 games, throwing 37 TDs to just 4 INTs. His completion rate is 68.9, and is QB rating is 111.9. However, his yards are only good for #10 in the league. Next, let's look at the old man, Tom Brady down in Tampa. 5,316 (#1) yards in 17 games, 43 TDs, 12 INTs, 67.5 completion rate, 102.1 QB Rating. So, Brady has thrown for 1,201 more yards, and threw 6 more TDs, but also threw 8 more INTs. He threw for more, but was less careful with the ball. Moving to a different category, we have RB Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts. In 17 games, Taylor rushed for 1,811 yards (#1), and 18 TDs (#1), with a 5.5 YPC average. That's over 100 yards and 1 TDs per game. He also had 40 receptions for another 360 yards and 2 additional TDs. So, 2,171 yards from scrimmage, 20 TDs. That's a pretty damn good season right there. Lemme put it this way: He won the rushing title by 552 yards. Well, if we are looking outside of the QB position, what about Rams WR Cooper Kupp? 145 receptions (#1), 1,947 yards (#1), 16 TDs (#1), 13.4 YPR, 114.5 YPG (#1)? There are a few QBs with better stats than Matt Stafford, which is why Staff isn't being listed here as a potential MVP candidate himself, but as far as WRs go, there was Cooper Kupp, and then everyone else. On the defensive side, he's pretty much a lock for AFC DPOY, but what about the Steelers TJ Watt as NFL MVP? 22.5 sacks (#1), 21 TFL (#1), 7 PD, 5 FF with 3 FR? Anyone missing you think should get legit consideration for MVP? Let us know in the comments! Broncos fire HC Vic Fangio: Makes Complete Sense
Vic Fangio is a great defensive-minded coach who never really had a chance to succeed as a head coach in the NFL. His defenses have been great, but he was ridden with pedestrian quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock throughout his tenure. It's no wonder that Denver never made the playoffs with Fangio as its head coach. That said, Fangio doesn't seem like he's suited to be a head coach. We've seen this with other defensive masterminds like Wade Phillips and Dick LeBeau. Fangio's in-game management wasn't great, and he usually lost the close games. Perhaps that was a byproduct of quarterbacking, but such maneuvers like kicking a field goal while down seven with four minutes remaining is why Fangio should probably just be a defensive coordinator. Dolphins fire HC Brian Flores: F. As in what the fuck were they thinking? What!? When I saw this news posted this morning, I thought it was a joke. Like, "Haha, Brian Flores is fired, just kidding, let's get to the real coaches who got fired like Matt Nagy and Joe Judge." Instead, the news was real, somehow. I don't understand it. Flores, in my opinion, is one of the better coaches in the NFL. He's a defensive mastermind, and players try hard for him. They rallied back from 1-7 and nearly made the playoffs. Miami didn't quite get there, but the team still finished with a winning record. This was the first time the Dolphins had consecutive winning seasons since the Dave Wannstedt era. You'd think this would warrant an extension of sorts. Instead, Miami let Flores go. I don't understand Stephen Ross' mindset regarding this move other than this is an attack by Grier to try to buy another year. Any coach he hires is likely to be a downgrade from Flores. The only reason the Dolphins didn't make the playoffs under Flores' watch is because the front office selected Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert, and yet Ross didn't fire Grier. Nothing Ross is doing makes any sense, so why should this be any different? Bears fire HC Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace: HTH (Had to happen) It's no surprise that the Bears have fired both their head coach and general manager. The duo of Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace greatly disappointed following a promising 2018 season that concluded with the double doink. Since then, the Bears are 22-27. Nagy proved to be an incompetent head coach who needed to be fired. He failed to develop the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and then seemed to be making the same mistakes with Justin Fields. It was telling that Fields had one of his best games when Nagy had to sit out with a minor illness. Chicago needed to make sure that Fields would be appropriately developed, and that wouldn't happen under Nagy's watch. As for Pace, he proved himself to be an incompetent general manager. He made some nice moves here and there, but the mistakes greatly outweighed the positive decisions. The worst blunder was trading up for Mitchell Trubisky rather than selecting either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. There were also other things like paying big bucks to Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel, Buster Skrine and Jimmy Graham. The Bears could obtain a better general manager by hiring some college kid playing Madden, so firing Pace was a no-brainer. Vikings fire HC Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman: Meh / Yup The Dolphins made an idiotic decision to let go of Brian Flores. The Bears firing Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy was a no-brainer. This, on the other hand, is more nuanced. I think Mike Zimmer is a good coach. He has his flaws, like being too conservative at times, but he's a defensive mastermind, and his players try hard for him. He didn't have much playoff success outside of advancing to the NFC Championship in 2017, but he never finished with a record worse than 7-9 either. That said, Zimmer turns 66 this summer, so I don't blame the Vikings for wanting a younger, more offensive-minded coach. Spielman, on the other hand, made a horrible decision that cost him his job. The egregious mistake, of course, was giving Kirk Cousins a fully guaranteed contract. This sapped much of the talent on the roster, as the Vikings had to get rid of some key players because Cousins commanded much of the salary cap. Spielman made some great draft choices, like selecting Stefon Diggs in the fifth round, but the Cousins signing was horrible, and anyone with half a brain knew it at the time. Giants GM David Gettlemen Retires: CFMIQ. Can't fire me, I quit There are some times when you just need to pack your stuff and walk away. The Giants were awful this year and Gettlemen's mismanagement is a huge reason for it. When you have the highest paid free agent WR and a 1st round pick WR and neither gets a touchdown that you have some serious issues. Judge gets another year to prove his worth but I'm not sure they can do enough to save him from being sacked next year. Giants fire HC Joe Judge: Makes Sense The Giants didn't fire Joe Judge on Black Monday, leading some to speculate that they would retain him for another year. This may have started a revolt among Giants fans, so this makes a lot of sense Judge's tenure with New York was a disaster. The Giants went 10-23 under his watch, and they weren't remotely competitive in many of their losses. They were blown out in every game down the stretch of the 2021 season, and they drew the ire of the fans when they made asinine play calls like running a quarterback sneak on a third-and-8. Furthermore, players had gotten worse under Judge. Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay are some of the players who regressed under Judge's watch and the axe tends to fall in the coach, even if players regress The Giants have had a lot of issues and I don't think Judge was the right guy to solve them. Judge may be the right guy years down the road for a team but he needs a ton more experience than he has right now. AFC
1. Tennessee Titans 2. Kansas City Chiefs 3. Buffalo Bills 4. Cincinnati Bengals 5. Las Vegas Raiders 6. New England Patriots 7. Pittsburgh Steelers NFC 1. Green Bay Packers 2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3. Dallas Cowboys 4. Los Angeles Rams 5. Arizona Cardinals 6. San Francisco 49ers 7. Philadelphia Eagles WILDCARD WEEKEND (all times are EST) Saturday, January 15 Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals, 4:30pm, NBC New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills, 8:15pm, CBS Sunday, January 16 Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1:00pm, FOX San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30pm, CBS Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15pm, NBC Monday, January 17 Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15pm, ESPN/ABC |
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