Despite a landmark lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams, former Dolphins coach and current Steelers assistant Brian Flores could be back as a head coach after only one year.
Per multiple reports, Flores will interview for the Cardinals’ vacancy on Monday.
Last Monday, we noted that the NFL grapevine was connecting Flores to Arizona, for two important reasons. One, as a coach, he’s the exact opposite of Kliff Kingsbury. And teams who fire a coach routinely look for the exact opposite to replace him. Two, with Flores suing the league and with the Cardinals facing a claim in that same action from former head coach Steve Wilks, hiring Flores would be good for the overall position in the litigation -- and in turn good for business.
And, yes, football is business.
There’s another angle for the Cardinals to consider. If they interview Flores and don’t hire him, they’d better have a solid and persuasive explanation for passing on him. Last year, the Texans got an invitation to the Flores lawsuit after interviewing him, making him one of three finalists, and then going off the board to hire Lovie Smith.
Many continue to be confused about the inability of a business to shun someone who has sued that business and/or one of its partners. The laws against employment discrimination also prevent retaliation against those who exercise their rights against employment discrimination.
To avoid the same fate as the Texans, the Cardinals would have to hire someone who would be clearly and obviously better than Flores.
Finally, the Cardinals have, since last Monday, hired former Patriots executive Monti Ossenfort to serve as the General Manager. Flores worked for eleven years in New England, He and Ossenfort are very well versed in the Patriot Way.
So there are plenty of reasons to seriously consider Flores. Barring a disastrous interview and/or a decision to make a big splash for someone like Sean Payton, Flores will be an extremely viable candidate -- and quite possibly the next coach of the team.