Former NFL executive Brian Flores is among the most interesting coaches to enter into this year’s head coaching carousel. His career as an executive with a Super Bowl win under his belt may help him land some big names come off-season, and he has even been proclaimed by one of his former bosses as “the best sports mind I’ve ever met.”
A former NFL executive is claiming that the lawyers of Brian Flores, a current Patriots Defensive Coordinator and possible future head coach, violated an NDA. The lawyers of Brian Flores claim that they did not violate any agreements. Read more in detail here: brian flores.
The NFL was stunned this summer by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ shocking lawsuit. The action criticizes the league and its owners for their treatment of Black and minority head coaches, as well as their hiring methods.
As the media battle of words heats up, at least one former NFL general manager, Michael Lombardi, believes Flores’ attorneys are distorting the facts.
The legal battle between Brian Flores’ attorneys and the Miami Dolphins is heating up.
In response to the #Dolphins calling Brian Flores’ assertion of an NDA “categorically false,” below are screenshots from the draft agreement & payment termination notice.
If #BrianFlores had signed this, he would have been gagged and unable to talk about his experience.#NFL pic.twitter.com/rlEgTXsd4I
— WigdorLaw (@WigdorLaw) February 23, 2022
The Brian Flores case (which you can read in its entirety here) is divided into two parts. On one level, Flores’ case against the New York Giants and Denver Broncos is about hiring procedures and a semblance of Rooney Rule compliance.
The action also names Flores’ most recent employer, the Miami Dolphins. When Black and minority coaches do acquire positions, this section of the lawsuit covers how they are treated.
According to the complaint, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross paid Flores $100,000 per defeat to tank games in order to acquire a higher draft selection, and sought to get him to tamper with “a notable quarterback.”
Flores’ lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said on HBO’s Real Sports (h/t The Guardian), that the owner sought to get the coach to sign a two-year non-disparagement agreement:
Coach Flores, to his credit, refused to sign it because… it wasn’t about the money. He would have signed it if it had been about the money. Instead, he brought this action in order to assist other coaches, both now and in the future.
Doug Wigdor, Brian Flores’ lawyer, has signed a non-disclosure agreement.
The Dolphins refuted the charges after Flores’ lawyer’s declaration regarding the NDA. Wigdor Law retweeted photographs of ostensibly NDA text in reaction to the rejection. A note from Dolphins CEO Brian Shore was also sent. Because Flores did not sign the team’s separation agreement, the club is “terminating payments of all non-accrued benefits and compensation,” according to the message from Shore.
Michael Lombardi is skeptical about the attorneys’ NDA allegations.
*{padding:0;margin:0;overflow:hidden} html,bodyheight:100% img,spanposition:absolute;width:100% ;top:0;bottom:0;margin:auto;bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyheight:100% html,bodyhe spanheight:1.5em;text-align:center;font:48px/1.5 sans-serif;color:white;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow:0 0 0.5em black;text-shadow
Michael Lombardi worked in the NFL’s front office for over 30 years. He began his career with the San Francisco 49ers as a scout. Lombardi rose through the ranks of the NFL to become the general manager of the Cleveland Browns and a special front office assistant to Bill Belichick.
Lombardi, who is now a member of the NFL media, spoke with Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show on a variety of issues, including the latest developments in the Brian Flores case.
McAfee examined all of the facts around Flores’ NDA and came to the conclusion that it seemed to be regular NFL contract wording. Lombardi concurred:
I got the same response as you, Pat. This is a little bit of a misdirected chain of evidence, in my opinion. Brian got his first deal in February of this year… He agreed to these NDA terms as part of a normal NFL coaching contract. And Brian had to sign the contract or he wouldn’t have been paid…. The Dolphins allegedly presented him with a contract – an NDA — on the day he was dismissed, telling him, “You be a nice boy or else — if not, we’re not going to pay you.” Furthermore, the sequence of events and chain of custody of the evidence are utterly out of date.
Brian Flores’ NDA, according to Michael Lombardi
Lombardi went on to state that he believes Flores is a good man. He also feels that the NFL should do a better job of finding and keeping Black and minority coaches. His main complaint is that Flores’ attorneys are distorting and confusing a conventional contract with an extra NDA, in his perspective.
Marvin Lewis, a long-time Bengals coach, recently commented on the Flores case.
Michael Lombardi and Brian Flores (L-R) | Photo: 2013 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images; Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
Marvin Lewis coached the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 years, with a record of 131-122-3. He began in 2003, the same year that the Rooney Rule was implemented. He was fired in 2018, the same offseason that Brian Flores was hired by the Miami Dolphins.
Lewis spoke with Sports Illustrated recently about the Flores case and the situation of Black coaches in the NFL.
“What Brian did was bring it to light for more people,” Lewis said of the case. What it’s already done: It’s undoubtedly increased external pressure to take a close look at certain issues.”
He also said that adding more Black owners to the NFL, as Deion Sanders recently urged, is not the solution.
“Individuals keep repeating that,” Lewis told SI, “‘People continue to employ people that look like themselves.” “However, we’ve had some young Black general managers who have selected head coaches who don’t look like them—and who, to be honest, haven’t even conducted in-depth interviews with other Black coaches.” And it is disheartening.”
Lewis concludes the discussion by offering advise to Black NFL coaches who are dissatisfied with the present system. “Don’t let frustration keep you from being prepared,” he said he’d urge these younger coaches.
Like Sportscasting on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @sportscasting19
RELATED: Eli Manning’s Tone-Deaf Excuses for the New York Giants Following Brian Flores Lawsuit: ‘They Don’t Care Whether Minority or Not’
Related Tags
- nda meaning
- miami dolphins head coach
