The Miami Dolphins employed Brian Flores as their head coach from 2019 to 2021, firing him in controversial fashion five years ago and embarking on the Mike McDaniel era, who has also since been fired.
This weekend, the Dolphins swim into U.S. Bank Stadium, and Flores will be waiting to exact some revenge – – because he seems like the kind of guy who would remember such a divorce.
This One Feels Different for Flores
The Dolphins Controversially Fired Flores after the 2021 Season
Miami fired Brian Flores on Jan. 10, 2022, after a 9-8 season and two straight winning years, something the franchise hadn’t pulled off since 2002-03. Owner Stephen Ross said the organization wasn’t working together well enough to reach the next level.
Flores, of course, saw the split differently. He later alleged Ross had pushed him to “tank” during the 2019 season and offered $100,000 per loss. An NFL investigation found Miami never intentionally lost games and said Ross never instructed Flores to do so, although it also found Ross repeatedly emphasized draft position over wins. Fishy.
The Dolphins moved on to McDaniel, while Flores headed into a far stranger offseason. His New York Giants interview became part of the discrimination lawsuit he filed against the NFL and multiple teams in February 2022. Suddenly, a surprising firing had become the starting point for one of the league’s biggest off-field stories.
Four years later, Flores has rebuilt his coaching stock as one of football’s premier defensive minds. The litigation remains ongoing.
And now Miami is walking into Flores’s building.
Faced MIA Once as a Steelers LB Coach in 2022
Flores has already had one reunion with Miami, though it barely resembles what’s coming Sunday. Mike Tomlin hired him as Pittsburgh’s senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022, and the Steelers visited Hard Rock Stadium that October. Miami won 16-10 on Sunday Night Football.
The interesting part: all 16 Dolphins points came before halftime. Pittsburgh kept Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami offense off the scoreboard for the entire second half, giving rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett plenty of chances to steal the game. Pickett threw three interceptions instead, including two late in the 4th quarter.
Flores was involved in Pittsburgh’s defense, but he wasn’t running the whole show. Teryl Austin held the defensive coordinator job, while Flores coached linebackers and worked as a senior assistant.
The setup is entirely different now. Flores is the Vikings’ defensive architect – – in charge of everything. His first Miami reunion came from the supporting cast, but this one comes with his fingerprints all over the defense. It will feel more personal.
This Time, His Defense Could Actually Kill the Dolphins
Through three games, the Flores defense has been absurd. Just demonic. The Vikings rank first in sacks, quarterback hits, fewest points allowed per drive, DVOA and EPA, while surrendering only 13.7 points per game.
Keep this pace alive into November, and the Vikings can dream of a Super Bowl, which they haven’t reached in 50 years. Flores has a veteran group playing fast and blitzing at an unholy rate.
Miami arrives at 0-3 with 36 total points and a minus-50 point differential. The Dolphins also lost De’Von Achane to a torn ACL, removing their most dangerous offensive weapon from a roster already deep into a rebuild. Malik Willis was sacked nine times over the first two weeks before Miami finally kept him upright against Kansas City.
Now, it’s Flores’s turn. There may never be a better setup for him to tee the hell off on the franchise that fired him four years ago.
Waiting for the Offense to Wake Up
The only thing keeping this from feeling like a huge mismatch is the Vikings’ damn offense.
Kevin O’Connell’s group sits last in the NFL in total offense and passing yardage through three games, with one offensive touchdown over the last two weeks. Third down has been just as ugly: 5-for-28 in that stretch. Kyler Murray has completed 18 of 34 passes for 186 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
A Miami defense that has allowed 86 points should provide a friendlier place to start fixing this.
Another reunion is buried in the matchup. Frank Smith joined the Vikings as assistant head coach this offseason after serving as Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2022 through 2025. The Dolphins have a new staff under Jeff Hafley, so Smith isn’t bringing some magic copy of Sunday’s game plan. He does know plenty about the organization and several holdover players.
More importantly, this is the kind of opponent O’Connell and Murray should exploit. If the passing game still looks stuck against an 0-3 Dolphins team, the pressure on O’Connell to “figure it out” will hit a fever pitch.
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VikesNow Verdict: Flores has already faced Miami once since the divorce, but never with this much control over the outcome. If his defense keeps playing like this, Sunday could become the reunion he’s probably been waiting years to sniff.
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