NFL Insider’s Brian Flores Replacement Suggestion Has Patriots Roots

Could the Dolphins keep it within the Bill Belichick coaching tree when they hire their next head coach?

It’s a possibility NFL insider Dan Graziano is keeping his eyes on in Miami, where Brian Flores was relieved of his duties Monday. Graziano can’t help but wonder if the Fins will consider Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for the vacated position.

“I’m really watching Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll here,” Graziano wrote for ESPN.com. “He’s got a prior connection with Tua Tagovailoa from his Alabama days, and a couple of people who know the landscape there have told me Daboll’s personality might mesh with the Miami brain trust. As you (Jeremy Fowler) hinted, the relationship between Flores and (Chris) Grier was not in a good place, and obviously they’re going to look for someone they feel they can work with and get along with.”

Daboll was on the Patriots’ coaching staff for the first seven seasons of the Bill Belichick era and ultimately returned for a second stint in New England that ran from 2013 to 2016. He’s had his current job in Buffalo since 2018.

The 46-year-old would have tough shoes to fill if he took his talents to South Beach, and he’s never had a head coaching job at any level. But between the factors Graziano mentions and his knowledge of the Patriots organization, Daboll very well could emerge as a leading candidate to replace Flores.