Brian Flores – February 25, 2020
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Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Regarding Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey, who brought his name up first and what was the reaction in the room when that name was called?) – “I brought his name up first. Having coached against him in years past, he was always somebody who was tough to deal with schematically, good situationally and then I’ve just heard many great things about him as a teacher, him as a – the big thing for me is always teaching. He’s a great teacher. These past couple – the time that he’s been here, I’m seeing more and more of that, so we’re excited to have Chan.”
(Did you have to talk Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey out of retirement or convince him to come back or was he enthusiastic?) – “He’s back. He’s enthusiastic and he’s excited for the opportunity, and we’re excited for him to work with our players.”
(As a coach when you sit down with these quarterbacks in the next week, what is the No. 1 thing you hope to…?) – “It’s hard to say one thing for the quarterback position or really any position. We’re looking for guys who are tough, who are smart, who are competitive, who love to play, put the team first. Obviously we’ve watched all of the film. We’re looking for talented players. There’s a lot of things we’re looking for in each player, but I would say tough, smart.”
(How high is mobility on that list in terms of things that you want a quarterback to have?) – “Mobility, I think at any level you’ve got to have mobility. Pee Wee, college, high school. You’ve got to be able to step up in the pocket or slide in the pocket or if you get a free runner, try to avoid that guy. I think mobility at that position at any level is a good thing. I would say just from a talent standpoint, yeah, that’s something we’re looking at as well.”
(On what he needs to know from QB Tua Tagovailoa’s medical evaluation.) – “There’s a lot to know about a lot of players. Specific to him, it’s all the things we just talked about – his love of the game, his intelligence. But that’s for any player, and medical’s obviously a part of that; but again, we’re very, very early in the process. There’s medical, there’s tests. This is very early. We haven’t even met him yet. I’m looking forward to meeting him and a lot of players. (There are) a lot of talented players here at the Combine.”
(There’s already a lot of talk about the “it” factor in quarterbacks. How do you evaluate that? When do you first evaluate if that quarterback has “it” to lead your team?) – “I think that’s something everyone talks about. Does he have that factor? Do guys rally around him? I think that’s something you see watching the film, but you get to know the player, the people around him, his coaches, his high school coaches or anybody who’s had an effect on (him). You want to get to know him and have those conversations. It’s a feel. You may feel like your guy has it. (Someone) may not. As a group, myself, (General Manager) Chris (Grier), we spend a lot of time talking about a lot of different things. If we feel like a player has that, that’s something that I think every organization is looking for. It’s an important piece, but it’s different. Everyone’s got a different kind of thought process and opinion on that.”
(Is that a requirement for you to feel like a player has that “it” factor?) – “I mean, the good ones have it, so yeah.”
(Drawing on your experience, what’s the most valuable thing your staff will take away from this week in Indianapolis?) – “It’s a great week to evaluate a lot of talented players at a lot of different positions. I think getting to know them – because there’s a lot of juniors here that we don’t really know very well, so to spend some time with them, getting to know them, getting to find out how smart they are, things that are important to them; I think that’s the most important piece. I want to know about the person. We can re-watch all the film. I have an opinion on how talented the player is, but how do they work? How important is it to them? Are they going to make the sacrifices necessary to become the player they want to be? Those are the kinds of things that I’m looking for.”
(You talked about having a vision for the team moving forward here. For the sake of that vision down the road, do you need to come out of this offseason with a young quarterback for the future?) – “There’s a lot that goes with that question. Obviously we’re looking at all positions. The quarterback is part of that as well. I think we want to create competition to get young, talented players at all positions. So yeah, as far as, I’ll tell you that’s – you’re right there, but it’s not just the quarterback position. It’s o-line, it’s d-line, it’s defensive backs. It’s all positions, so they’re all important.”
(On the competitiveness of the AFC East.) – “I think our division’s very competitive. Obviously the Patriots every year. They’re well-coached and they’re tough to deal with. The Jets – they’ve got a very talented roster. They’re well-coached as well. All those games are tough and obviously Buffalo. They made the playoffs last year. They’ve got a talented team as well, so yeah, I think it’s a very tough division.”
(On if the Patriots are vulnerable.) – “(laughter) No, I don’t see them as ever being vulnerable.”
(On Preston Williams.) – “Preston is working hard every day. I’ve seen him in there. He’s working hard. He’s doing everything he can to get back as quickly as possible. I thought he played okay last year. There’s always room for improvement. I think he’s taking steps to make those improvements.”
(On the team’s draft capital and trades and how aggressive they will be.) – “I think it’s entirely too early to kind of talk about how aggressive – there’s a lot of smokescreens out there from trade this, trade that. Look, I think we’re going to – you’re right. We have some capital; but again, it’s not just one position. Not in this game. There’s 22 guys on the field at a time, so we’re trying to build a talented roster. Depth is important in this league as you know, and there are injuries every week, so we want to build as talented a roster as we can. The quarterback position is part of that like (someone) mentioned earlier, but they’re all important to me. We have our kickers, punters and long snappers; I’m taking a look at all those guys as well. We want to create competition. That’s important to me at every position, so that’s kind of the goal.”
(Your reaction to Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Karl Dorrell leaving to go to Colorado? Will you have an assistant head coach next year?) – “I’m very excited for Karl. I think it’s a great opportunity for him. He and I had some very good conversations about – I think he was happy here with the Dolphins, but there was an opportunity that I was very supportive of. He wanted it. Like I say to all our coaches, if there’s something that they want, then I’m going to be supportive of those guys. As far as assistant head coach, we’re still kind of in the process of looking to replace Karl and potentially replace his dual roles with us, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s too early in the process. When I know, I’ll let you guys know.”
(What do you have on the status of Xavien Howard’s health and potentially the discipline he might face?) – “The league has kind of taken over from that standpoint. We’ve got to let them go through that process and we’ll take it from there.”
(As you prepared to play the Patriots last season. What did you see from QB Tom Brady in September, and then of course again when you saw him in the finale?) – “I see a very talented player. One of the best players to ever play.”
(How strange would it be for QB Tom Brady to leave the Patriots? Is that something you’re sort of hoping for?) – “I don’t want to speculate. That’s what it is right now. A lot of speculation, a lot of smokescreens. I’m worried about our team. That’s where my focus is, where my mind is at all times. How do I help our team get better, how do I help our players and coaches get better? I think the Combine is a part of that.”
(In your personal life, do you find people you know asking about QB Tom Brady, because of your connection with the team?) – “My personal life? I don’t really get that much. (laughter)”
(You mentioned the smokescreens and speculation earlier. How do you decide how to move from that? Do you stay, go, move around?) – “I don’t read much. I don’t have a Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. I kind of stay out of that, so I don’t really get much of it. If it’s Pro Football Talk, maybe I’ll read it. I know what’s going on in our building. I don’t really worry about what’s going on in everybody else’s building. Everything for me is about how do I make the Dolphins better, how do I help the Dolphins get better. That’s kind of where I’m at.”
(On Stephen Ross dismissing the idea of QB Tom Brady coming to Miami.) – “I think ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) did a good job, a really good job last year. His leadership was something that really helped us a year ago. I’m really focused on the guys that are on our team right now. As far as Tom Brady and free agents, that’s coming up and I understand the question. But right now, we’re having conversations and we’re kind of looking at everything – Chris (Grier), myself, our personnel staff, we look at everything. Every avenue, Chris has got a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C for everything. That’s a good thing. We kind of bounce ideas off of each other. It’s a really good working relationship. We’ll see what happens as we move forward.”
(On if he’s comfortable with what Stephen Ross said) – “Like I said, I feel that ‘Fitz’ has done a really good job. I agree with Steve as far as why would (Tom Brady) want to come to Miami, I do. I’ll leave it at that. I do agree with Steve.”
(Where does QB Josh Rosen fit in?) – “Josh is expected to come in, learn the offense and develop the way he has developed over the latter part of the season. He’ll get an opportunity to compete and get better every day.”
(You guys have versatility on your roster. As you guys go into free agency, do you know where guys like G/T Jesse Davis, and S Bobby McCain will play next season. Or do you wait and see how free agency and the draft play out?) – “We know where they’ve played in the past and what they can do. Versatility is very important for us. It allows us to – it’s not like quarterback where you play one spot. If you can play multiple positions, that’s a good thing. It’s still very early. I don’t think we’re go into it and say ‘hey, you’re playing this, or you’re playing that.’ I think being versatile and having the ability to move a guy like Bobby from safety to different positions, that’s good.”
(What’s your ideal running back for the running game?) – “Running backs come in all different shapes and sizes. It depends on we’ve got. I think we’re always going to do what’s best for the player. Chan (Gailey), he’s done a really good job of fitting the scheme to the different players he’s had. Yeah he wants somebody who is fast, breaks tackles and can block. He’s got to protect. We’re looking for all of those things.”
(On the organization winning the Paul Tagliabue Award for diversity.) – “I think it’s great. There are a lot of great minority candidate throughout the league. I think we have a few of them on our staff including Karl (Dorrell) – we just lost one. I think that’s a good thing. I’m obviously in full support of that. It’s pretty clear that the Dolphins are in support of minority candidates. I do think that there are a lot of great leaders of men, great coaches, great teachers who, if given an opportunity, will do a great job.”
(What are your thoughts of the changes of the Combine?) – “Adapt or die. You’ve just got to be fluid, you’ve got to be flexible. We meet at night now. I‘ve got to figure out when I’ll get my workout in and go from there.”
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa thinking being left-handed is a strength.) – “I wouldn’t sit here and say I’m a quarterback guru. I think I look at it from a defensive perspective and that is a little bit – not unusual but it’s different. There aren’t a lot of lefties out there. (Tua Tagovailoa) is a good player. He’s done a good job and I think everyone, their talents, strengths and weaknesses are different. He’s good player. (Joe) Burrow is a good player, (Justin) Herbert is a good player. (Jordan) Love is a good player. There are good players here. We will evaluate them all. He should think it’s a strength of his. If he thinks it’s a weakness, that’s probably not a good thing.”
(I want to ask you about your t-shirt.) – “The (Dolphins) Cancer Challenge. Just supporting the function the Dolphins have this weekend. The 5k run or walk, or (you can) bike. I think it’s for a tremendous cause and it raises a lot of money for cancer research. I think the Dolphins have done a great job of supporting the fight against cancer. I’m here to support it in any way I can.”
(Are you going to run, walk or bike?) – ‘I’ll be here.“
