Steelers Hire Brian Flores as an Assistant Amid His N.F.L. Lawsuit

The Giants referred to as Flores’s claims “disturbing and easily false,” saying they’d “concrete and goal proof” that the crew’s determination was not made till the day after Flores was interviewed.

Flores additionally stated in his lawsuit that he sat for a “sham interview” with the Broncos in 2019, a declare the Broncos stated was “blatantly false.” Additional, he alleged that Stephen Ross, the Dolphins proprietor, pressured him to lose video games in the course of the 2019 season to safe a better draft decide, going as far as to supply him $100,000 for every loss. Ross referred to as his claims “false, malicious and defamatory.”

4 days after the league’s preliminary assertion that referred to as Flores’s lawsuit meritless, Commissioner Roger Goodell despatched a memo to all 32 groups pledging that it might not look forward to a decision to the lawsuit to re-evaluate and reassess its range, fairness and inclusion insurance policies. Goodell additionally stated the N.F.L. would “completely and independently” evaluate Flores’s claims that Ross requested him to lose video games.

The N.F.L., a league during which about 60 p.c of the gamers are Black, at present has three Black head coaches: Tomlin, Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins, who’s multiracial, and Lovie Smith of the Texans. The N.F.L.’s Rooney Rule, which was applied in 2003 to require groups to interview nonwhite and/or feminine candidates for head teaching and senior govt positions, was named after Dan Rooney, whose household based and owns the Steelers. Flores wrote in his lawsuit that whereas the supply could have been well-intentioned, “what is obvious is that the Rooney Rule shouldn’t be working.”

Flores performed linebacker and security at Boston Faculty, and one of many roles he held throughout his 11-year tenure with the New England Patriots was teaching the linebackers, whereas he additionally ascended to defensive play-caller.

In Pittsburgh, he’ll work alongside Teryl Austin, who changed Keith Butler because the crew’s defensive coordinator earlier this month. Austin was one of many Black coaches Flores referred to in his lawsuit, describing Austin as a longtime assistant who was “by no means given an opportunity” to be a head coach.

Earlier this month, Austin’s agent, Eric Metz, instructed The Associated Press that Austin had been given a sham interview with the Lions in 2018 to fulfill the Rooney Rule because the crew sought to fill its head coach opening, which finally went to Matt Patricia.