The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired former Miami Dolphins coach and Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores as the senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, the team announced Sunday.
Flores spent three seasons in Miami after climbing the ranks in New England where he started as a special teams assistant in 2008 and ascended through defensive positional coaching roles into a de-facto defensive coordinator gig in 2018. His Dolphins finished 24-25 with no playoff appearances.
Flores had interviewed for head coaching jobs this cycle, but filed a lawsuit against the NFL alleging racist hiring practices. The lawsuit, which used a private text message exchange with Bill Belichick as evidence, seemed likely to complicate his candidacy for any opening in the NFL. But Pittsburgh took action and added the talented coach to their ranks.
We have named Brian Flores as our senior defensive assistant/linebackers.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 19, 2022
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin released a statement on the hire.
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” said Sunday. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
