- Former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a blockbuster lawsuit against the NFL on Tuesday.
- In his first public comments since, Flores said he was humiliated by "sham interview" with the Giants.
- A mistaken text from Bill Belichick revealed that the Giants had already picked another candidate.
Brian Flores says he felt humiliated by the "sham interview" with the New York Giants.
Flores made his first public comments since filing his blockbuster lawsuit against the NFL regarding racial discrimination in the league's hiring, firing, and retaining Black coaches. He told CBS about the days leading up to his interview with the Giants and the mistaken text message he received from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that revealed he didn't have a real shot at the job even before he met with the team.
"Last week, I interviewed for the Giants position," Flores told CBS. "I was set to interview on Thursday. The Monday prior, before I interviewed, I received a text message from Bill Belichick saying congratulations on the Giants … Essentially, congratulations on the Giants job. There was a little bit of a back and forth, some confusion. I had not sat down with the Giants yet. I asked him, are you talking to the right Brian. And as you can see from the text messages, he actually thought he was texting Brian Daboll.
"It was a range of emotions. Humiliation. Disbelief. Anger. I've worked so hard to get to where I am in football, to become a head coach. For 18 years in this league, to go on what felt like, what was a sham interview, I was hurt."
Flores said that while he felt he didn't have a shot at getting the job after getting Belichick's text, he still went anyway, choosing to believe in hope.
"Call it the audacity of hope," Flores said. "I have a belief that there's good in people. I just do."
In his conversation with CBS, Flores also addressed the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams with coaching vacancies to interview minority candidates for open positions with the intent of helping diversify the coaching ranks of the NFL. Instead, he says it has led to Black coaches getting interviews that team owners view as nothing more than an item on a checklist to be completed before they eventually hire who they wanted in the first place.
"The Rooney rule is intended to give minorities the opportunity to sit down in front of ownership," Flores said. "I think what it's turned into is an instance where guys are just checking a box. That's been the case. I've been on some interviews in the past where I've had that feeling. There's always no way to know for sure, but you know. I know I'm not alone in that."
In a statement released after Flores' lawsuit was filed, the Giants said they considered hiring Flores "until the 11th hour" but hired the person they felt was "most qualified to be our next head coach."
"We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll," the statement read. "We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates."
Flores' sham interview with the Giants was not the only one he's been through in his NFL career. In the lawsuit, Flores also spoke of an interview with the Denver Broncos, alleging Broncos general manager John Elway showed up an hour late and "completely disheveled."
Flores said that it was "clear from the substance of the interview" that the Broncos "never had any intention to consider him as a legitimate candidate for the job," according to the lawsuit.
The Broncos denied the allegations in a statement, saying they were "blatantly false" and adding that the interview began on time and that pages of detailed notes from the interview could "demonstrate the depth of our conversation and sincere interest in Mr. Flores as a head coaching candidate."
"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," the statement concluded.
Flores said that while he understands that his lawsuit may mean he never works as an NFL head coach again, it was a necessary step for a league that needs to move forward.
"I love coaching," Flores said. "I'm gifted to coach. I know that. And the relationships that I've built with players, coaches, support staff — I'm gifted to coach and I love coaching and I want to coach. But this is bigger than coaching. This is much bigger than coaching."