Bill Belichick's Brian Flores texting debacle is what truly led to Dolphins losing their first-round pick

Bill Belichick is arguably the highest-profile coach in the NFL. He is known throughout the wider sporting world for his long tenure in New England, however he can’t seem to avoid controversy. Whether it is his team being involved in ball deflation or signal videotaping, the Patriots coach has seen his fair share of scandals.

His latest involvement in a scandal appears rather tenuous, until you fully assess the situation. The Miami Dolphins were found guilty of tampering and unethical conduct on Tuesday. As a result, they were fined and stripped of their first-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

However, what led to this finding was Brian Flores’ racial discrimination case against the NFL.

Evidence of tampering involving the Miami Dolphins, Tom Brady and Sean Payton was discovered as part of the investigation into Flores’ case.

How Bill Belichick kickstarted the chain of events which led to the Miami Dolphins being punished

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So what exactly happened? Brian Flores was angered by the fact he didn’t believe his applications for jobs were taken seriously by franchises.

Belichick texted Flores under the assumption that he was sending his message to Brian Daboll. Daboll would eventually take the head coaching position with the New York Giants. His tone seemed to suggest that he had heard Daboll would be the coach selected by the Giants no matter what.

What gave the game away was the fact Belichick texted Flores to offer congratulations. This was despite the fact that the former Miami Dolphins coach had not yet been interviewed for the position.

This undermined the entire process and the Rooney Rule, which has been one of the beacons of success/equality that the NFL has held onto for many years.

Why is Bill Belichick’s text so problematic?

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On this occasion, Belichick was not really the guilty party. He was merely texting to offer congratulations to someone he believed was about to get a job in the NFL. Though he was possibly offering advice, the motivation behind the text was an issue.

If we’re to take Belichick at his word, Brian Flores was never at all considered for the Giants coaching job. His interview was merely a token gesture to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

This isn’t what the rule was introduced for. It’s not merely a tool to circumvent, it’s supposed to ensure teams keep an open mind and have the potential to be wowed by a black coach in his interview.

Black coaches should be given an equal chance of a job, depending on how well they do in their interview. The Rooney Rule is so they can get in the door and have the chance to impress. If teams have no intention of letting themselves be impressed by an interview, then we’re in a really difficult spot.

Racial equality and representation in the NFL have been debated more and more frequently in recent years. Especially following Colin Kaepernick’s exit from the league.

Many believe that franchises ignore the Rooney Rule and a lot of black coaches are merely given token interviews. But there was no evidence to back this up until now. Bill Belichick’s text, whilst unintentional on his part, looks like a smoking gun.

Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL directly led to the Dolphins being punished

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The Miami Dolphins broke the rules by tampering and have been found guilty and punished. It is an open-and-shut case in that regard. However, there is a very strong argument to be made that the Dolphins wouldn't have been punished if not for Flores’ discrimination suit.

That very suit was only brought about by the text inadvertently sent to the former by Belichick, thinking it was going to Brian Daboll. Nobody would have known about the Dolphins tampering scandal had it not been uncovered in the racial discrimination investigation.

Flores also accused the Dolphins of unethical conduct aside from tampering. He asserts that during his time as head coach, he was pressured to deliberately lose games by owner Stephen Ross. The assertion is that Ross wanted to tank in order to get a better draft pick. Flores maintains in his suit that he was fired by Ross for not conforming to those demands, which shed further light on the Dolphins’ underhand dealings.

Bill Belichick can’t be blamed for what happened to the Dolphins, nor can he take credit for the advantage it will give his Patriots in the 2023 draft. However, he is the reason it has all happened.

The league has an unwritten say-nothing policy on unethical conduct, which might well go on throughout the NFL. But in the case of the Dolphins, it was brought about entirely by a mistaken text by the second-oldest head coach in the NFL.