Report: NFL to Review Brian Flores' Tanking, Tampering Allegations Against Dolphins

The NFL is reportedly expected to investigate the tanking and tampering allegations that former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores made against the organization and owner Stephen Ross, per multiple reports Wednesday.

That comes a day after the NFL said in a statement that Flores' allegations of racial discrimination in hiring practices—made in a lawsuit against the league and the Dolphins, New York Giants and Denver Broncos—were "without merit."

Flores says in the lawsuit that Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019. He also says that general manager Chris Grier told him that Ross was "mad" when the Dolphins won five of their final nine games that season and that Flores was "compromising [the team's] draft position."

The NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported Wednesday that he spoke to a person who corroborated Flores' allegations:

If Ross was essentially bribing Flores to tank games, the repercussions could go beyond any NFL investigation:

He also says Ross pressured him to meet with a "prominent quarterback" after the 2019 season despite that player being under contract with another team. Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post has reported that the quarterback was Tom Brady.

Flores says that Ross then invited him onto his yacht for a lunch in the winter of 2020, only for the quarterback in question to also show up at the boat for an "impromptu" meeting. Flores says he left immediately and was "treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with."

"The implication that we acted in a manner inconsistent with the integrity of the game is incorrect," the Dolphins said in a statement.

As for his allegations of discriminatory hiring practices, Flores shared a text message from Bill Belichick in which the New England Patriots head coach congratulated him on getting the head coaching position with the New York Giants, even though Flores hadn't yet interviewed with the team. Belichick appeared to have confused him with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who was ultimately hired.

Both Flores and Daboll coached under Belichick in the past.

Flores called his interview with the Giants a "sham," saying in his lawsuit that the Giants only brought him in to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires that teams hold an in-person interview with an external candidate of color for any general manager or head coaching vacancy.

"We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates," the team said in a statement. "The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach."

He also said that in a 2019 interview with the Denver Broncos, then-general manager John Elway and several other members of the organization showed up late to his interview and were hungover.

"Pages of detailed notes, analysis and evaluations from our interview demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate," the Broncos said in a statement. "Our process was thorough and fair to determine the most qualified candidate for our head coaching position. The Broncos will vigorously defend the integrity and values of our organization—and its employees—from such baseless and disparaging claims."