Brian Flores Named Dolphins Head Coach After Patriots' Super Bowl Victory

New England Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins to become their new head coach.  

The Dolphins announced the news Monday following the Patriots' 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. General manager Chris Grier provided his thoughts on the hiring in a statement:

"Two things that stand out immediately when you meet Brian are his football intelligence and leadership skills. Brian is widely respected throughout the NFL. He paid his dues in New England working in personnel, on offense, defense and special teams, which helped him build a great understanding of what it takes to win. If you talk with anyone who has played for him or worked with him, you will hear about his ability to lead and get the most out of people. Brian sets a high standard for his players and coaches and we are completely aligned with our vision on how to build a successful organization."

The 37-year-old joined the Patriots in 2004 as a scouting assistant and slowly worked his way up the coaching chain. While still listed as New England's linebackers coach, he effectively took over for former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who left to coach the Detroit Lions last year.

In Flores' only season in charge of the unit, the Patriots defense ranked 21st in yards (359.1 per game) and seventh in points allowed (20.3 per game). New England was also 16th in defensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders.

This wasn't the first season he was on the radar for a team needing to fill a head-coaching vacancy. Prior to selecting Steve Wilks, the Arizona Cardinals brought him in for a formal interview.

Ahead of the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim spoke highly of his meeting with Flores, per Andy Hart of the Patriots' official site:

"Brian was a guy I didn't know a lot about. Had the recommendations from a lot of different people. Was really impressed with him in the interview process, maybe a little bit more just about his presence. A lot of times you get to know a guy and early on you can see that this guy can command the room. And there is no doubt in my mind that Brian Flores has that skill, that he can command the room, that he can hold 53 guys' attention and earn their respect. That's really what it's about. The great ones in the league, to me, can do that."

Flores' stock has been steadily climbing, and his hiring as a head coach was inevitable.

Through no fault of his own, his arrival in Miami is likely to be met with some skepticism. Bill Belichick is one of the NFL's greatest minds, but his coaching tree is a mixed bag at best.

Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Josh McDaniels and Eric Mangini all parlayed their success in New England into head-coaching jobs elsewhere, and all four fell well short of expectations. Bill O'Brien might be an exception, and the jury is still out on Patricia, though he's already facing heavy scrutiny after the Lions went 6-10 in 2018.

To some extent, it's unfair to hold the failures of Patriots assistants against Flores. But there's enough evidence to suggest working in close proximity with Belichick doesn't automatically provide transferable skills.

College football programs have attempted to copy Alabama coach Nick Saban's approach by hiring his assistants and experienced varying degrees of success as well, which is a similar parallel.

Like O'Brien, perhaps Flores can buck the trend.

Going to Miami is a gutsy decision for Flores.

For one, he'll be coaching in the same division as Belichick. Rather than leaving his former boss' shadow, he will see him twice a year in the AFC East.

Independent of that, Miami presents Flores with a difficult challenge right out of the gate. It has avoided a full-scale rebuild so far, but that process might be inevitable now.

The Dolphins aren't going anywhere with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, and going in a different direction would likely mean a transition year or two. The team doesn't have a ton of cap space, either, with just under $14 million to spend this offseason.

Rather than continuing to spin their wheels, win eight to 10 games and settle for second or third place in the division, the Dolphins might as well start over. If that's the route the team takes, then Flores is going to experience some growing pains early into his tenure.