The Super Bowl is over and the NFL Combine is a few weeks away, but the Pittsburgh Steelers put the NFL back in the news Saturday afternoon when they hired former Miami Dolphins head coach, Brian Flores, as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.
When announced, Twitter ignited like the Dwarven furnaces in Moria and the reactions came swiftly.
Most celebrated the fact that Flores was employed again after his shocking and wrongful termination by the Dolphins in January. Others echoed the sentiment and gave the Steelers props for bringing Flores on board.
Until Lovie Smith’s recent hiring, Mike Tomlin started the year as the NFL’s sole Black head coach. He’s also the longest-tenured and winningest Black head coach in the league.
Fans also pointed to the Rooney Rule, which was crafted by late Steelers’ owner, Dan Rooney, and implemented in 2003 to improve minority hiring in the NFL.
Tomlin, like these fans, celebrated Flores’ signing.
“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” said Tomlin. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”
Flores’ resume does speak for itself, and it says he’s more than qualified to be a head coach.
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