Sunday evening’s matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers brings a number of interesting aspects for fans to munch on from the return of Tua Tagovailoa to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Miami’s undefeated team.
However, maybe the most interesting topic for this contest is former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores taking on his former team for the first time since his firing.
Flores’ departure was one of the most newsworthy firings in recent memory considering his back-to-back winning seasons and, obviously, the legal fallout afterward.
This week a number of Dolphins were asked to share their thoughts on facing their old head coach. Here’s what they had to say:
Robert Hunt
“I don’t really know. I mean I’ll say what’s up to him after the game. That’s all I really got for that.”
DL Christian Wilkins
“Yeah, I mean, well, it’s just business as usual. We’re preparing to play the Steelers and obviously there’s history there with ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) and everything, but we’re just preparing business as usual getting ready for the Steelers.”
S Brandon Jones
“It’s exciting, just to be able to see him in person. I haven’t talked to him in a while, obviously, but I’m excited. I know that with the route that he’s taken and being able to – I know he’s been helping out their defense a lot from what I’ve seen. I like to watch film on a lot of other teams and stuff like that. But yeah, he’s been helping them out a lot, and it’ll be really cool to see him.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
“Yeah, I think it’ll be cool being able to go up against the guys that he’s coaching on that side. I know he knows personnel really well from being here with us. But I think we’re all excited to go up against their defense. You hear a Pittsburgh Steelers defense and you just think of hard-nosed. You think of a really tough defense. They’re going to give us some good challenges in this game.
“I’ve been with him for the past two years. So he definitely knows what I like and what I don’t like. But then again, schematically, this is Mike (McDaniel)’s offense and this isn’t the same offense that I’ve been running while he’s been here the past two years.”
LB Jaelan Phillips
“Obviously, Flo’s the one who drafted me, so I appreciate him for that. It’s just any other game, honestly. We’re not hyping it up. Like ‘Oh this is a revenge game or anything like that.’ We gotta prepare for the Steelers just how we prepare for any other week, so we’re excited to play.”
TE Mike Gesicki
“Yeah, if I see him, I’ll say what’s up. I don’t know if we’ll cross paths, but I’ve got no ill will or anything towards ‘Coach Flo.’”
LB Jerome Baker
“One thing I’ll say about ‘Coach Flo’ was he always honest. That was the one thing that never changed. He didn’t care if he hurt your feelings. He didn’t care if it got under your skin a little bit. You knew the guy just wanted to be honest and he was going to tell you the truth and he wanted the best out of you. I always respect that just as a man. He never lied. He never spared my feelings. He was honest and he just proved to me and showed me that he really cared and wanted the best for me. I always respected that.”
