MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Brian Flores has been fired after three playoff-less seasons with the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins announced the move Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the team defeated the Patriots 33-24 in Sunday's regular-season finale to sweep New England for the first time in 21 years.
"I made a decision today to part ways with Brian Flores," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. "After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren't functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins."
Flores was 24-25 in three seasons and led the Dolphins to back-to-back winning records each of the last two years, but it didn't translate into postseason appearances.
Despite winning eight of their final nine games after a 1-7 start to the season, the Dolphins finished third in the AFC East Division and never finished better than second in the division.
"I believe we have a talented young roster in place and have the opportunity to be much better in 2022," Ross said. "I want to thank Brian for his hard work and wish him nothing but the best in his future."
Flores was hired in 2019 after spending 15 seasons as an assistant under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. He was 4-2 against his former boss.
"This is a guy who will have a job before the end of the week if he wants one," ESPN 106.3 FM host Josh Cohen said during a discussion on the WPTV Facebook page. "Brian Flores belongs in the NFL."
Cohen said he believes the decision to part with Flores was less to do with what happened on the field and more to do with his personal relationship with Dolphins general manager Chris Grier.
"This really feels personal," Cohen said. "I think we're going to find out more as the day and the week progresses that this is a personal rift between Chris Grier and Brian Flores."