Brian Flores has filed a class-action lawsuit against three NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins. One accusation alleges Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross incentivized Flores with $100,000 for every game he tanked during the 2019 season. There isn’t any proof, but if you follow the story close enough, you’ll see a connection between tanking, Tua Tagovailoa, Chris Grier, and Brian Flores.
On February 4, 2019, the Miami Dolphins signed a former Patriot defensive assistant Brian Flores as their head coach. Grier stripped the roster of several first-round talents. Long-time quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, was cut and signed by the Titans — he made the playoffs.
Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick were two other young staples who got traded to the Texans and Steelers, respectively. Both of the aforementioned players made Pro Bowls.
Naturally, Flores’ career got off to a historically poor start. In Flores’ first three games, his team was outscored 133 to 26. Grier’s decision to strip the roster down had NFL media ablaze. They destroyed the Dolphins, accusing them of tanking, including ESPN’s Domonique Foxworth, who said the practice was unethical. Who could blame him?
Grier did everything he could to blow up the Fins roster, and the Fins were getting destroyed. Was it all for a quarterback Flores never wanted, Tua Tagovailoa?
After Flores’ release, reports surfaced he wasn’t getting along with people, including his starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. That’s where it gets interesting. What if I told you it all stemmed from Flores being asked to Tank for Tua?
Was Brian Flores forced to tank for Tua?
During the 2019 season, Tank for Tua was a slogan uttered by fans throughout South Florida, from Miami Gardens to Homestead.
Think back to the 2019 College Football season. Sure, Joe Burrow went No. 1, but no one recognized the former LSU quarterback as a serious prospect until after his performance against Alabama. Tua was nearly a unanimous favorite to become the first quarterback off the board in the 2020 NFL Draft. For a while, it appeared it would happen.
Tua got hurt, opening up the floor to Burrow — he took full advantage, but he wasn’t the only one. Oregon’s Justin Herbert entered the conversation as QB2 as Tua continued to heal from a catastrophic hip injury.
Yet Flores had the pressure of losing games for someone he didn’t want to begin with — now he was hurt.
In the NFL, the Fins turned things around, and the Bengals continued to lose. Flores won more games than many predicted, erasing any chance they had at the No. 1 overall pick, creating a bigger problem. They had no shot at Burrow, Tua was hurt, and Justin Herbert was a potential star.
Reports surfaced alleging Flores’ desire to draft Justin Herbert instead of Tua. On the flip side, GM Chris Grier and owner Stephen Ross still wanted Tua who fell into their laps.
You didn’t have to read reports to see Brian Flores’ noncommittal stance against Tua. Here’s the crazy part. Tua’s rookie season was supposed to be a redshirt season. For a while, it was. Ryan Fitzpatrick held it down for Flores, who had his team fighting for a playoff spot.
Was Brian Flores forced to make Tua the guy?
Despite Fitzpatrick’s success and Tua spending all off-season rehabbing, the second-year head coach pulled the trigger. Why? Was there influence from the top to play their future star? We may never know, but we all wondered why Flores started Tua, given their success.
Tua was also still recovering from a career-threatening injury. By all accounts, the former Bama quarterback should not have been playing at all, but he was.
Here’s something to remember. Flores never treated Tua like a true starter. Flores had no problems pulling him in crucial situations for Fitzpatrick. One example was the Fins 2020 Week 16 victory against the Raiders. It’s not that difficult to imagine why Tua and Flores didn’t get along.
Long after Fitzgerald left for the Washington Commanders, Flores continued the same treatment of Tua into year two of his development. Throughout the 2021 NFL off-season, rumors connected the Miami Dolphins to Houston Texans’ disgruntled quarterback, Deshaun Watson. We’d learn that Watson would only wave his trade clause to play with Brian Flores in Miami.
Flores’ palpable distaste for Tua didn’t stop there. Jacoby Brissett was the benefactor of Flores, not trusting Tua in certain situations, like third and short. Flores often took the ball out of Tua’s hands during red-zone situations. The third-year coach relied on the Wildcat formation.
Regardless of his handling of Tua, Flores ended his Dolphin tenure as the only Fins coach to have back-to-back winning seasons since Dave Wannstedt. We may never know if Ross and Grier forced Flores’ hand in drafting a quarterback he did not want. We may never know if Flores was asked to tank. However, there’s a clear disconnect between Brian Flores, Chirs Grier, and Stephen Ross.