Brian Flores – January 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, January 9, 2022
Postgame – New England
Head Coach Brian Flores
Q. I know that asked you a lot about kind of how you would approach this final game and seeing the way your guys played and to cap off with the win the way it did, with Sam Eguavoen catching the interception in the end zone and the way the crowd was reacting, soaking in that moment, what was it like for you? What did that mean to you?
COACH FLORES: I’m proud of this team. I’m proud of their fight, their resiliency, their ability to deal and battle with adversity. We’ve had ups and downs, and it’s a year I’ll certainly remember. But yeah, very proud of this team.
Q. Fourth coach in franchise history with two winning seasons in their first three years with this team. Does that mean anything to you to add to your pride in this year’s version of the team?
COACH FLORES: The credit goes to the players, coaches. I am always going to feel like and wish I could have done more. And our guys did work hard from the players and coaches, but obviously our support staff. It’s a special group. I’m happy, I’m proud to be a part of it. And I’m excited for the way they played today. Proud of the way they played today and really the second half of the season.
Q. You mentioned about the fight and how proud you are of your guys. A win like this today, does it give you more of a sense of confidence as you go into the offseason to build for next season?
COACH FLORES: I think right now my thoughts are on kind of enjoying this. I think you’ve got to give credit to the Patriots and Bill (Belichick) and his staff, congratulate them on their season, what they did. They did a nice job and obviously played well today. And the offseason, those are things that we’ll start to get into in the future. But right now just trying to enjoy this moment.
Q. Could you sum up this year? Was it a success as you see it? Was it what you expected?
COACH FLORES: Look, every year is different. I think every experience you learn from them, good or bad. That’s kind of how I try to approach everything. I’ve learned a lot this year about myself, this team, players on our team, the people in our building. I think that’s really what I take from it. I think that there will be time to reflect on it and see that there’s certainly some things that I’ve learned. I’d like to think I’ve grown a little bit. Hopefully that’s the case for everyone. That’s the case for everyone every year — players, coaches. I’m sure that’s the case for you in your profession. There’s always good, there’s always bad, and you try to learn from it all.
Q. What does it mean, this is the first time the franchise has swept the Patriots in 20 years in a series. Does that add any kind of significance to you considering you spent 15 years with the organization? You know the level of kind of dominance that they’ve had over this franchise.
COACH FLORES: They do a great job. They’re well-coached. They battled for 60 minutes. We saw that tonight. They play well in all three phases. And like I said earlier, when you’re away, I know certainly for me I’ve grown more of an appreciation for the things I’ve learned there and try to implement them here and really in every area of my life. But it’s nice to always win. I’m glad — I’m happy for our players and our coaches and our support staff to go out with this win.
Q. If I could just go back to your last answer, you talked about how you’ve learned and grown over the course of the year. If I could just ask maybe in what ways, if you could just kind of elaborate on that a little bit?
COACH FLORES: I think look every year, every time I step out on the field, go into a meeting, do a walkthrough, I think those experiences; I think you’re learning every time, every day. I try to improve every day. I try to preach that to our players. That’s the goal really in all areas, not just football. But as husbands, as fathers, as sons, really in every way. So I try to take those experiences and try to be better in every area of my life. Specific to football, it’s across the board. From a leadership standpoint, from a preparation standpoint, from a scheduling standpoint, from practice standpoint, from a walking standpoint, you can take all those things and say what’s the right formula. But every year is different, different players, different situations. I think as I get time to reflect, kind of put it all together; so many variables, from offense, defense, special teams, scheduling. Just so many things. So many areas where you can learn. I try to be better in every one of those areas.
Q. How would you assess Tua’s performance today?
COACH FLORES: I thought he played well. I thought he made some big runs in critical situations, picked up first downs when we needed them. Thought he made a lot of good throws. Thought he moved the ball well, ran the ball well. So he led us and gave us an opportunity to win the ball game, specifically at the end when we needed a drive. It’s a good defense. Bill had all his timeouts and he was using them. That was a big drive — a great job. Nice job by George (Godsey) calling it and putting us in a position to get the win.
Q. Could you sum up Tua’s season and considering at the trade deadline you guys were talking to Houston, his future with the franchise?
COACH FLORES: I think as far as evaluating the entire season, I’d like to have a little process for that. It’s a bit unfair for me to say the season went like this, but I know I can tell you he’s grown a lot this year from a leadership standpoint, from a command of the offense standpoint, from a dealing with adversity standpoint, from dealing with adversity and coming right back and helping us move the ball and make throws. Proud of his effort, proud of the way he handled himself the entire year. He did a nice job from that standpoint. As far as reflecting on the whole year, not quite there just yet.
