Brian Flores Quickly Built One of NFL’s Top Defenses in Miami

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting one of the top young defensive minds in football, with the hiring of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores as senior defensive assistant, which the team announced on Saturday.

Flores spent three seasons with the Dolphins as head coach, and in the second and third seasons, Flores had the Miami defense playing with some of the best in the league.

In 2021, the Dolphins were seventh in sacks with 48 and eighth with 26 takeaways. The year before, Flores had Miami eighth in yards per play, eighth in sacks and sixth in points allowed.

He did so despite a 2019 season that saw most of the team’s talented veterans depart, including safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was traded mid-season to Pittsburgh. They also traded away defensive ends Charles Harris and Robert Quinn, linebackers Kiko Alonso and Raekwon McMillan.

Flores alleged in his lawsuit against the Dolphins and the NFL following his firing earlier this season that he was paid to lose games in the 2019 season. If that is true, it makes the speed at which Flores was able to turn around those units even more impressive.

Dolphins defensive ranks under Flores:

Yards per play

2019 6.0 (T-27th)
2020 5.9 (T-8th)
2021 5.3 (T-19th)

Turnovers

2019 16 (T-28th)
2020 29 (1st)
2021 26 (T-8th)


Points allowed

2019 494 (32nd)
2020 338 (6th)
2021 373 (16th)

Sacks per game

2019 1.4 (32nd)
2020 2.6 (T-8th)
2021 2.8 (7th)

Steelers Hire former Dolphins Coach Brian Flores as Senior Defensive Assistant