Sometimes, Maria is already asleep by the time Flores gets there, worn out from the fight her body has been waging for the past three years. On those nights, Flores gives her a kiss, then heads home to his wife, Jenny, and their three kids, his early-morning wake-up following soon after. “I stop in every night,” Flores says, “even if it’s just for two minutes.”
It has been a memorable month for Flores. This Sunday, he will call the defensive plays in a Super Bowl for the first time, and shortly thereafter he is expected to be hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He’s 37 years old, and his career is cresting in a way that few others will ever experience. But what he’ll remember most about this time in his life is the minutes he’s stolen at the end of each day, by his mother’s side.
