One game doesn’t make or break an NFL head coach, and it certainly shouldn’t lead to his immediate firing. But
Brian Flores may have lost the Dolphins locker room after one game, and if that is indeed the case, which it certainly sounds like it is based on multiple reports, he could already be a dead coach walking.
In the span of a few hours on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Miami, Flores’ ability as a head coach was called into question and his players outwardly quit on him. Flores’ gameplan to challenge
Lamar Jackson to throw it deep on his squad by playing without safety help over the top backfired tremendously, and Jackson torched Flores for that decision, exploding for 324 yards and five touchdowns. That Jackson needed only 17 competitions to reach those gaudy numbers speaks to the ease with which Jackson converted deep throws, all against a gameplan Flores had all offseason to work on.
Somehow the aftermath of the Dolphins’ 59-10 loss to the
Baltimore Ravens was even worse.
ProFootballTalk reported that multiple players reached out to their agents after the game and expressed their interest in being traded.
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald later confirmed that report, saying more specifically three players expressed that desire. In both reports it stated players were upset with Flores’ game plan and questioned Miami’s desire to win this year, with some speculating they’re already playing out the string for the best draft pick possible in next year’s draft (hello, Tua!).
