ATLANTA — While the rest of the New England Patriots will be celebrating or sleeping Monday, linebackers coach Brian Flores will be announced as the next Miami Dolphins head coach.
The Pats’ de-facto defensive coordinator went out with a bang Sunday night, limiting the Los Angeles Rams to three points and 260 yards in his unit’s most impressive performance of the season.
“It’s incredible,” Flores said of departing the Patriots with another Super Bowl win. “We’ve got such a great group here. We’ve got a resilient group. People counted us out multiple times over the course of the year, and we just came back to work, put in more work, tried to get better every day, and we did. We built over the course of the season and now look at it. We’re Super Bowl champs, and these guys did a great job.”
The Patriots led the NFL in man coverage this season but mixed in much more zone Sunday in the 13-3 Super Bowl LIII win. Cornerback Jonathan Jones played safety. Safety Patrick Chung played linebacker. Cornerback JC Jackson covered tight ends. The Rams had no idea what was coming, because the Patriots bucked their own trends.
“He is a great person, and that’s what makes him special,” Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty said Sunday night of Flores. “Obviously, the Xs and Os as a coach, holding that offense to three points, he has that, but him as a person, how much he cares about everyone in the locker room, he has been all through the Patriots system. The entire staff is amazing.”
