Some good honest discussion about not just Flores but Ross, Grier, Gase etc...

[Pappy13]

Absolutely loved this. I don't know this big O guy, but I'm gonna be looking out for him more often now. I like what he's saying. Omar seems stuck on getting rid of Grier too, but at least he understands why Flores is gone and that it was the right decision even if he was a decent coach.

Big O & Omar on Flores Firing and why he needed to go

[masterfins]

^^^ Interesting listen, he certainly has his opinions.  My take aways from this, and some other reports, Flores was terrible at hiring offensive coaching staff, which everyone here knows, and IMO was his major failing.  What worries me is that if Grier was following Flores' lead in drafting players (with the exception of Tua who Ross wanted), then what do we have to look forward to in future drafts?  IMO I think the drafts the past couple years have been good (with the exception of OL picks, which IMO have had more to do with poor coaching); then what can we expect from Grier if it was really Flores directing the picks??

Just seems to be more and more questions and uncertainty, which is not how I thought this off season would go.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I'm interested on whose idea it was to trade down from #3 to #6 and draft Waddle. Did Flores say "I don't want Chase or Pitts" or was that all on Grier who wanted Waddle and got way too cute getting back in place to draft him?

[ArtieChokePhin]

Absolutely loved this. I don't know this big O guy, but I'm gonna be looking out for him more often now. I like what he's saying. Omar seems stuck on getting rid of Grier too, but at least he understands why Flores is gone and that it was the right decision even if he was a decent coach.

Big O & Omar on Flores Firing and why he needed to go

Big O = Orlando Alzugaray.  He's a local sports radio host and has been covering the Dolphins for decades.   I've met him a few times because he likes to do live shows at local sports bars.  He knows a lot of inside stuff and is very personable.

[Spider-Dan]

So if this video is accurate, then it turns out that Brian Flores had the exact same problem as Eric Mangini and Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia and Joe Judge: he thinks the key to successful coaching in the NFL is just to be a huge dick to everyone.



I wonder where they all got this idea?

[Dave Gray]

I have a bias against the Big O because I heard him talking about Web Weekend -- the first time the Dolphins invited this website and several others to convene about how to work with fans and the team and each other.

He reported on it in a negative light, in a way that was demonstrably false.  I knew this because I was there.  I was part of it.

It made me question other things he talks about.

[Downunder Dolphan]

Interesting listening, and a comment by one of the viewers below it was interesting reading too:

Terbmagic
·
9 hr. ago
Wholesome

I agree with A LOT that Big O is saying.

Flores just thought he could control the entire lineup and make all decisions for the team. He basically high jacked the GM and undermined the defensive coaches.

Flores didn't want herbert or Tua. Forced Brissett, even putting Tua on IR unnecessarily and drug testing him constantly.

He REALLY struggled finding ANY assistant coaches. The offensive line coach is a joke (3rd in 3 years). The offensive coordinators are a double joke (3rd in 3 years and now its 2 guys working together wtf).

He fucked up Ryan Fitzpatrick DIRTY when he was supposed to mentor and teach Tua. Took him out the week after Fitzpatrick's mother died.

He drove Kenny Stills out of town with the Jay Z thing

The GM, Grier, has connections with Saban from alabama. Saban told him Minkah Fitzpatrick was the smartest player hes ever coached and to draft him. He does. Flores gets in arguments with Minkah Fitzpatrick and drives out of town.

He demanded we sign Van Noy and Eric Rowe, so GM signs them for 2 year contracts. They get in arguments so Flores demands they are cut from the team and we pay the salaries for the 2nd year.

He cut jakeem grant but apparently didn't have a backup plan. So he had tryouts DURING games for punt returner and kick returner.

He wanted Watson so bad so he demanded we sign Fuller. Who never played for us because we didn't get Watson.

He never once committed to Tua, so much so that he FORCED tua onto IR so he can play his choice of Brissett, who absolutely sucked and went 0-4.

Ereck Flowers said he couldn't work with Flores any longer. GM forced to cut him. The backup Austin Jackson is the lowest rated offensive lineman of all time.

Gesicki was FURIOUS at flores for keeping him at 50% snap counts. It was actually crazy. He did the same thing with Mack Hollins, who I joke makes 1 game saving play per game then you never see him again. The team voted him a TEAM CAPTAIN as a fuck you to flores.

it's just the coaching was a disaster to start the season. Disaster. You lost to Jacksonville...Urban Meyer out schemed you.

That Titans game...lol its freezing cold. Windy as hell. Raining. Potential SLEET warning its so cold and windy.

What's the game plan?

SURELY ITS NOT HAVE TUA THROW IT 38 TIMES AND DUKE 7 CARRIES

Not to mention what the hell is Flores record on challenges? 1 for 34? I don't think I can recall a single one that went our way.

[Spider-Dan]

I'm trying to get some reputable confirmation on this, but apparently Flores had the league test Tua for PEDs a bunch of times...?  I've seen this referenced a couple of places but it all seems like social media theories.

[ArtieChokePhin]

I have a bias against the Big O because I heard him talking about Web Weekend -- the first time the Dolphins invited this website and several others to convene about how to work with fans and the team and each other.

He reported on it in a negative light, in a way that was demonstrably false.  I knew this because I was there.  I was part of it.

It made me question other things he talks about.

What exactly did he say?   I know from listening to his past shows that he's an old school guy when it comes to technology and resents the new developments in it because it's used to spread rumors that have no legs.

[Dolfanalyst]

It'll be interesting to see whether and how quickly Flores is hired as a HC somewhere else.  Certainly teams have ways of getting information like this and determining its credibility and relevance in making a hire that important.

[Dave Gray]

What exactly did he say?   I know from listening to his past shows that he's an old school guy when it comes to technology and resents the new developments in it because it's used to spread rumors that have no legs.

The background is that we didn't know what Web Weekend was.  The Dolphins invited us in, but I thought we were getting called into the principal's office -- that we were going to be told what we couldn't use, like use logos or whatever.  But we really just had no idea.

It wasn't that at all.

But we also were shmoozed or asked to speak nicely about the team. 

The Dolphins and Ross take a lot of shit, but you really have to understand that they were hugely ahead of the rest of the league when it came to fan outreach.  This is before Facebook groups and forums and fan sites were kinda the wild west.  We just didn't know what it meant.  But they saw the importance and value of it.  They treated us with respect, never tried to control our message, but really gave us a line to the team to voice concerns and they gave us access.  We got to see behind the scenes of how the team worked and they let us in on what they were doing to improve.  We didn't really get much Xs and Os football stuff (there was a little bit of that), but it was more about how they wanted to improve facilities to stay competitive, the fan experience -- they listened to our concerns about attending the games, etc.  We weren't media, necessarily, but we weren't nothing.  They saw that this was an untapped resource for them to reach out to their own fans.  And what they asked in return was essentially help with charity.  They were super smart and forward thinking.  They wanted another way to get their press releases out about their various charity functions and stuff like that, mostly.  ...maybe dropping us reminders when all star votes were coming out.  And they were obviously benefitting from these fan sites going and touring the practice bubble or whatever, and then bringing that information to fans.

There were never rules about what not to do or say.  But they did ask that we be respectful and fair.  They never shied from hard questions.  When giving us access to tour the locker room, say -- they'd ask us to remember that these are player's private spaces -- not to take pictures of what's inside the lockers as this was the players' home away from home.  The tone was that of shared respect, always.  They humanized the players and coaches and staff and really let us in on the kinds of decisions they were facing to try and improve the experience.  And most of the time (depending on who you talked to), they were candid.



Anyway....

Big O was ranting after we shit the bed that week and he went on the air complaining that these websites were brought in and threatened with what to say, essentially.  It was just a made up lie, firstly, but it really also didn't capture the tone of the relationship that the Dolphins had the foresight to nurture.  And it pissed me off, because even though we were a bad football team on the field at the time, the team was doing the right thing in that regard and were being misrepresented.

[fyo]

It'll be interesting to see whether and how quickly Flores is hired as a HC somewhere else.  Certainly teams have ways of getting information like this and determining its credibility and relevance in making a hire that important.

I think he'll get a new gig relatively quickly, even if teams determine these issues to be accurate. He was a rookie coach and sometimes guys like that just need to move on to a new team to really start fixing their mistakes. It does require that they realize what their mistakes were, but that's something prospective teams would get a feel for during interviews. Flores' #1 issue was not being able to surround himself with good assistants. To his credit, he realized the assistants were bad and kept trying to find new ones. A good offensive coordinator would help gameday adjustments (initial drives worked well). Challenges are also about having the right people in the booth to quickly establish whether a challenge is likely to be upheld. Surround yourself with bad assistants, and you wind up having to micro-manage everything.

[CF DolFan]

Big O was ranting after we shit the bed that week and he went on the air complaining that these websites were brought in and threatened with what to say, essentially.  It was just a made up lie, firstly, but it really also didn't capture the tone of the relationship that the Dolphins had the foresight to nurture.  And it pissed me off, because even though we were a bad football team on the field at the time, the team was doing the right thing in that regard and were being misrepresented.

The thing is you don't know the people he got his story from. I'm always amazed at how something can be interpreted so differently by people. Iknw I loved the web weekend I got to attend. Big O can be an ass and as such isn't on anywhere locally but is doing his on thing. He also has some pretty good takes at times so like all of the talking heads it's good to know they are in it for ratings as mch as anything.

No matter how true each specfic story is about him ithe Dolphins have let it be known Flores is a power hungry arse who will punish people who don't meet his criteria and it isn't just the players.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I'm trying to get some reputable confirmation on this, but apparently Flores had the league test Tua for PEDs a bunch of times...?  I've seen this referenced a couple of places but it all seems like social media theories.

To me, if true this would be grounds to never be allowed to work in the NFL again as far as Flores goes. However, like you I need more official confirmation. Would the league even show up to test a player every time their coach tells them to?

[Dave Gray]

To me, if true this would be grounds to never be allowed to work in the NFL again as far as Flores goes. However, like you I need more official confirmation. Would the league even show up to test a player every time their coach tells them to?

I saw this somewhere, as well....might have been on here.  If that's true, that's super-duper weird.  Is there a source, if not for the claim, at least where it may have originated?