Report: Brian Flores Cost the Dolphins the Chance to Add Tom Brady and Sean Payton for 2022
Michael Reaves. Getty Images.You had to figure that when a promising coach takes the drastic step of suing the league he works for alleging:
A) A scheme to throw games
B) Leaguewide collusion to discriminate on the basis of race
… there would be widespread ramifications. When the Commissioner can't shut up about the "integrity of the game," those two charges are like accusing someone of violating Star Fleet's Prime Directive. So it was safe to assume there'd be a Butterfly Effect that would have far-reaching consequences. And if you assumed that, it sounds like you nailed it.
Pro Football Talk - The Miami Dolphins are moving forward with Mike McDaniel as the head coach and, for now, Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback. At one point after the end of the 2021 season, however, the Dolphins explored a different approach.
Per multiple sources, and as first revealed on Monday’s PFT Live, the Dolphins planned to pursue Sean Payton to be the coach and Tom Brady to be the starting quarterback. The plan was scrapped after Brian Flores filed his lawsuit against the NFL generally and the Dolphins, Giants, and Broncos specifically.
On the record, Dolphins declined comment. Team sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issues confirmed that the team contacted the Saints to seek permission to speak to Payton. …
As to Brady, Dolphins sources contend that internal discussions occurred regarding the possibility of adding Brady as a minority owner. … Rumors have persisted for two years regarding Brady’s potential involvement with the Dolphins, either as a player or as a partial owner. … Indeed, as Brady approached free agency in 2020, the Patriots were very concerned that Brady would join the Dolphins as a player — with partial ownership on the table.
Consider for one hot second what that would've done to the balance of power in the AFC East. And the AFC on the whole. Sean Payton going from the worst passing offense in the NFL to one built around the guy who quarterbacked the No. 1 passing attack. A QB with 5,200 yards and 43 TDs, throwing to Jaylen Waddle (104 receptions, 1,015 yards), a solid WR2 in DeVante Parker (40 and 515 in just 10 games) and an emerging, young upper-tier tight end in Mike Gesicki (73 and 780). As it was in 2021 with Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins receiving corps ranked 19th on Pro Football Focus' grading system. With another year of experience, a card-carrying offensive genius calling the shots and Brady under center, it's by no means a stretch to think they could be a Top 5 group. And one of the most productive offenses in the league.
That's what Flores blew up when he dropped that legal bomb into the Dolphins camp a few weeks ago. In fact, he put a crater in the middle of Steve Ross' master plan a year earlier, when he wouldn't go along with that secret meeting with an unnamed free agent quarterback we all know was Brady in 2020. Flores had too much integrity to violate the tampering rule and that was the beginning of the end for him as far as Dolphins ownership was concerned. So when he was let go to the shock of everyone, he held onto his lawsuit and timed its release perfectly to obliterate the Payton-Brady Plan with one kill shot. And the missile found its mark with total precision.
Just for my own benefit, I'm going to take this as further proof that Bill Belchick's mistaken texts to Flores that set all these wheels in motion was anything but a mistake.
I just didn't see it at the time, but Belichick allegedly getting his Brians crossed (Flores and Daboll) when he did ensured that he'll have Mike McDaniel and Tua to contend with, instead of facing a pairing of Payton and the GOAT twice a year for the foreseeable future. And we might look back at it as one of the most brilliant maneuvers in a career that's been full of them.