Former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who was fired on Monday, reportedly got his first call to another head coach vacancy, which was lined up Tuesday with the Chicago Bears.
Flores is expected to become a hot name for other vacancies following his surprise dismissal on Monday after back-to-back winning seasons. Dolphins owner Steve Ross pointed to “communication and cooperation” questions as a justification for his dismissal.
The Bears are looking for a coach after firing Matt Nagy on Monday. Tuesday’s news of Flores’ interview with Chicago was first reported by the NFL Network.
In his final year with the Dolphins, Flores got a look at the Bears’ roster in a couple of joint training sessions in August and a preseason game ahead of the 2021 season. If he gets the job, he would be in a different scenario with a second-year quarterback selected in the first round of Justin Fields after coaching Tua Tagovailoa in his second-year campaign with the Dolphins last season.
The Dolphins travel to Chicago to meet the Bears in the 2022 season, so if Flores ends up there, he will meet his former team next fall.
Miami’s first reported interview was requested with Buffalo Bill’s offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who had a season working with Tagovailoa in college in Alabama.
The Bears are also looking for interview former Miami Hurricanes linebacker Glenn Cook for their vacant general manager position. Cook, who played for UM from 2003 to 2008, is the vice president of player staff for the Cleveland Browns.
Flores was 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins and did not have a playoff appearance after falling short each of the last two seasons.
Dolphins futures contracts
The Dolphins announced Tuesday that they have signed four players to reserve / future contracts: wide receiver Cody Core, cornerback Javaris Davis, tackle Adam Pankey and tackle Kion Smith.
The quartet was on Miami’s training team at the end of the season. The signings allow the Dolphins to retain those players throughout the offseason. They take effect at the start of the new league year on March 16, with lists expanding to 90.
Of the group, Core has the most NFL experience, but most recently joined the Dolphins. He was signed to the Miami training team on November 29, but did not show up in a match.
Core has played in four NFL seasons – three with the Cincinnati Bengals (2016-18) and the New York Giants (2019) – and has appeared in 51 games with seven starts. Originally a sixth-round pick of the Bengals in the 2016 draft, Core has recorded 33 receptions at 388 yards and a touchdown.
Pankey has appeared in seven games for the Dolphins since being awarded exemptions on December 10, 2019. Spending the 2021 season on the training team, he was elevated to the “Monday Night Football” victory against the New Orleans Saints on December 27. and played an offensive snap. He appeared in nine games with the Green Bay Packers between 2017 and 2018.
Davis has spent the past two seasons on the Miami training team and made his NFL debut in the Nov. 28 victory over the Carolina Panthers, where he recorded two tackles and one defensive game.
Smith spent his rookie season as an exhausted player from Fayetteville State on the Dolphins’ training team without appearing in a match. Before coming to Miami, he spent the previous offseason and training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, who had joint training in Miami last preseason.
Any player who is not on an active list at the end of a team’s season is eligible to sign a futures contract.
