Can We Fire Flores Now?

[EDGECRUSHER]

For the second year in a row with the season on the line, we no showed and got destroyed. One thing to lose to a better team, but quite another to lose as soon as you step off the bus. Flores is not the guy and he should've been let go after we lost to the Jaguars.

I know we all got excited about the 7 game winning streak, but this team lost 7 in a row and he couldn't even get the defense to be XFL level. He is a problem and he has to go. The GM can leave with him too. This team got some decent talent that has been held back by the coaching staff. Look at the O-Line for proof of that, so many rookies and 2nd year guys playing like garbage for no reason whatsoever.

This isn't the usual "Fire everyone and start fresh" nonsense. This is a solid team that can win 11-12 games next year with the right coaching. If we keep Flores, we start off next year 2-6 and fire him midway and waste yet another season. No more.

[dolphins4life]

Do you guys watch the Big Bang theory?

If you do, do you remember the whip app episode?

Maybe instead of firing Flores, we need to hire somebody to do that app to him every time he does something stupid.

This team is a playoff quality team.  They played bad today.  However, if not for a HORRIBLE missed PI call in the end zone against LV, they'd be 9-7 right now.  They've lost two other close games.

I don't think you can look at ANY of their wins this year and say, "Well, they should have lost that game.  They were lucky."  Every win has been fairly comfortable.

It's just a matter of when the breaks are going to go our way.

It's been twenty years, and we are still waiting.

[Tenshot13]

Without reading all of that dribble you're posting, no we don't fire him.

[Dolfanalyst]

It's difficult to make a case that the talent acquired during the rebuild is sufficient when it's never played at a sufficient level in the pro game.  It's not like these are players who have played elsewhere and then come here and had their performance drop off.  It's just as likely the draft picks have been nothing more than misses and average players, with no difference-makers.

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase just went up and down the field all day on the Chiefs and won.  This team has no difference-makers of that sort.  They're completely incapable of being competitive against the best teams in the league like that.  If you don't have the horses in the passing game, you're very unlikely to be one of the best teams in the league.  This team doesn't have them.

[dolphins4life]

We've on the cusp of the playoffs so many times.  We just need to get over that hump

[EDGECRUSHER]

It's difficult to make a case that the talent acquired during the rebuild is sufficient when it's never played at a sufficient level in the pro game.  It's not like these are players who have played elsewhere and then come here and had their performance drop off.  It's just as likely the draft picks have been nothing more than misses and average players, with no difference-makers.

Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase just went up and down the field all day on the Chiefs and won.  This team has no difference-makers of that sort.  They're completely incapable of being competitive against the best teams in the league like that.  If you don't have the horses in the passing game, you're very unlikely to be one of the best teams in the league.  This team doesn't have them.

We won 10 games last year and 8 or 9 this year. So, 9-10 wins is our current talent level with bad coaching and a not great GM. I don't think it's far off to say this team can win 12 games with better coaching and a solid free agency class. Really just talking about 2 extra wins, not going from 4 to 14 wins in a season.

[CF DolFan]

We’ll stay with this coaching staff another year but we haven’t seen anything to think things will get any better than slow starts and winning a few against mediocre teams. I don’t think Flores is the problem as much as he just can’t or won’t bring in knowledgeable coaches. Maybe he’s worried experienced coaches won’t tow his line or something but we need better coaches to teach and call plays.

[Dave Gray]

I think it's a fair question, but no, I don't think you can.

You're right -- the time to make the move was mid-season, after you'd decided the season was lost.  Now, you're losing to a team that you probably should've lost to and you're gonna fire now? I am not a fan of Flores and I wouldn't be sad to see him gone, but the play-calling and things he has direct control over has been much improved in the last few weeks.  Unfortunately, this week Tua wasn't good and nobody could catch the ball.  But the opportunities were there....we just didn't make it happen.

I don't think we're a good team, as I said, but we're not terrible either.  I think we're probably only a couple of players away from being much, much better.  We need to protect the QB a little better and probably have one more great receiver and we'll be there.

[dolphins4life]

He does make bad decisions, but is he costing the team games?

[dolphins4life]

We were SOOO close to fighting for the top seed in the AFC this year

[fyo]

Flores has made a lot of bad decisions and he's been outcoached quite a few times this year (including yesterday's game). He has seemed to manage the locker room and players quite well, with well below-league-average public moaning from players - and no one quit despite a 7 game losing streak.

His decisions on who to surround himself with leave a lot to be desired. The co-offensive coordinator thing was a bust and going through 4 offensive coordinators and 4 offensive line coaches in 3 years is just a recipe for disaster. The worst part is that those two components still look like shit, so the urge to make a change on that front has to be strong - but does anyone really believe offensive coordinator #5 is the solution? It might just be beyond repair at this point, with no good choices left.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I think it's a fair question, but no, I don't think you can.

You're right -- the time to make the move was mid-season, after you'd decided the season was lost.  Now, you're losing to a team that you probably should've lost to and you're gonna fire now? I am not a fan of Flores and I wouldn't be sad to see him gone, but the play-calling and things he has direct control over has been much improved in the last few weeks.  Unfortunately, this week Tua wasn't good and nobody could catch the ball.  But the opportunities were there....we just didn't make it happen.

I don't think we're a good team, as I said, but we're not terrible either.  I think we're probably only a couple of players away from being much, much better.  We need to protect the QB a little better and probably have one more great receiver and we'll be there.

I would've fired him at any time during the streak, he is not the right coach for this team. You just can't have your team get blown out as much as we do. We are not some 3 win team that can't beat anyone, we are a middle of the pack team that consistently gets killed by better tams, especially when the season is on the line. We are defeated when we step off the bus, that's all on coaching. The Titans are better, but they didn't even have Henry playing. 34-3 with the season on the line? Enough already, time to go.

[Pappy13]

A week ago I would have said that we should give Flores another year, but I've changed my mind. Let me explain.

It's not so much that my feeling about Flores has changed, it's the feeling I get that I think we have seen the ceiling that Flores can bring to the Dolphins and it's not high enough. Flores and company might be able to get us to the playoffs next year, but I don't feel that he can take us any further than that. I think both the offensive and the defensive philosophy that he has is limited. The swarming attacking defense does really well against undisciplined offenses, but when it comes up against an offense like the Titans that has an answer for that type of defense then Miami can't switch to something else and get the job done. Same for the offense. An RPO can only take you so far in the NFL and you have to be able to switch to something else when that isn't working and I don't think the offensive line, the QB nor the receivers that we have are capable of switching to something else under Flores. So when the Dolphins fall behind, they get crushed. If they can stay close in a game Flores gives them a decent chance of winning, but once the game starts to get out of hand they don't have the tools to make a comeback and it snowballs quickly. That's happened far too often this year, against mostly good teams.

Here's the problem though for me and that is that I'm not sure the braintrust that is the Dolphins front office can identify a coach with a ceiling higher than Flores. In my opinion the owner is too set on trying to find the "NEXT GREAT COACH" that will last 10 or 15 years with the Dolphins but doesn't know how to find that person, nor does anyone else within the organization. In my opinion it's time to get rid of the entire front office and not just the head coach. We need to bring in a front office that is willing to bring in a head coach that already has head coaching experience and not look for some up and comer. It takes too long for some up and comer to just learn how to coach. We need someone who's already been there and done that. Someone that will have the respect of the players the moment they get here. Someone like Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher. Someone who can start the process and then eventually turn over control to someone else once the organization is back on the right track. The really tough thing to swallow is that going back to square one means another 2 or 3 years of futility, but the alternative is enduring more of the same that we have seen for the last 20 years where the Dolphins bounce around from poor to decent and never really look like a team that scares anyone.

[miamid45]

Flores not the problem!  Did you watch that game?  Our D was playing great and Tua was the problem.. Sorry he misses too many throws and decision making horrible.  Add in the fumblesyesterday and we could have won.  
He’s not the guy… plain and simple.

Yes our D got gashed late, but that 1st quarter was dominating and our offence couldn’t make plays… when I say offence I’m pointing at Tua!  He made one good long pass to Waddle, but was high on most other throws.  If this team had Russell Wilson or Watson, we run away with the division.  Neither isn’t happening, but man Tua was terrible yesterday.

[CF DolFan]

  If this team had Russell Wilson or Watson, we run away with the division.

This is funny. Watson didn't win any more games his last year in Texas than they did this year. He isn't Brady or Rodgers who can actually make up for bad teams. Wilson looks to be running out of gas but I guess we will see.