The Miami Dolphins made a stunning move early Monday morning when they announced that they fired head coach Brian Flores.
Miami started the year 1-7 in Flores’ third season with the franchise but ultimately rallied back strong to win eight games in the second half of the year. Throughout his three-year stint with the organization Flores went 5-11 with an inherited roster, 10-6 and then 9-8. Normally, a showing like that doesn’t get you fired.
Why’d the Dolphins ultimately make the decision they made?
According to ESPN NFL insider Jeff Darlington, a power struggle of sorts emerged in Miami.
There was also some initial chatter that Miami was hoping to replace Flores with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, but apparently that will not happen.
Fortunately for Flores, it's likely he won’t have much trouble finding a new gig.
It will also be interesting to see what impact this all ultimately has on the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. Flores was a central reason why the Texans star wanted to go to Miami.
Earlier this year Miami was linked to a fairly substantial three-team trade that never ended up materializing. It will be interesting to see if it gets new life in the offseason as a result of this move.
It’s rare that an end-of-season NFL firing comes out and shocks everyone, but that’s exactly what this one did. Things will only get more interesting from here.
More must-reads: