Flores is Fired and I'm Finished with the Fins

 

I woke up today prepared to attempt to digest my feelings about the 2021 NFL season. Then I read the news that Brian Flores had been fired. And my day has taken more than a little bit of a tailspin.

But I've eaten and while I haven't exactly sorted my thoughts and my feelings out, I have come to one conclusion: I'm done with the Dolphins.

That's not an easy thing for me to say. Nor something I say gladly. But this—

Jay Glazer said on Sunday that it would be a shocker if Flores was fired. He said something to the effect of, “There are bigger problems in Miami than who the head coach is if they fire Flores.” And he was right.

The scuttlebutt as I understand it is that Chris Grier won another internal political fight between himself and his head coach. Basically, Ross wanted to know why the team wasn't winning, and rather than Flores spending his time telling Ross that Grier has sold him down the river with no paddle – that is, no next to no blue chip talent and an undersized quarterback who simply can't get it done – Flores spent his time coaching his team. Meanwhile Grier spent all his time telling Ross that the team is stocked with talent, that Flores just isn't maximizing them.

More of the same.

I wrote about this at the beginning of the season. I have written ad nauseam about the importance of an owner as a talent scout; and if Ross can't identify that Flores is indeed one of the best coaches in the League, then he isn't good at his one job – and for that, he deserves no more of my attention, no more of my clicks, no more benefit of the doubt that his organization isn't one of the great shit-stinking dumpster fires in the League. No more.

I'm so upset about this. My rage is nearly inarticulate. Maybe what I should do is sit down and come up with a list. The Top 7 Reasons Stephen Ross sucks at his job. But I already did something like that at the beginning of the season, when I was preparing myself emotionally for Brian Flores to be fired midseason. When I was talking about how my letter of resignation would have been on Ross's desk before getting on the plain to London.

The largest part of why I'm upset about this is because I've let my emotions get so tangled up in Miami this season that I haven't been able to tell exactly what I'm thinking or feeling about them. The entire winning streak felt like an illusion, like a lie. It felt unreal. But what I'm realizing I felt more than anything was the precariousness of not believing what I was seeing while sort of wanting to. I wanted to believe that Tua had turned a corner and had become a serviceable quarterback. I preferred that reality to the reality I had identified and written about wherein Tua is the quarterback we saw against Tennessee.

I was almost relieved by the loss to Tennessee. Now I see that I should not have been.

Stephen Ross genuinely believes this was a Super Bowl competitive roster. And I think Grier and Ross believe Tua's the guy. Which doesn't even make sense – because Ross is the guy who was trying to get Watson involved!

It doesn't even make sense.

That's the summary of Stephen Ross's ownership, and I'm not going to tie the cycles of my mental health to a man who can't act rationally. How can I expect to feel sane under these conditions!

I let the Dolphins' dysfunction this season let me believe that maybe I didn't like the NFL as much as I did. Well, that's not right – because I had an amazing time with the Bengals this season, and even the Raiders were fun. So, as little as I want it, I have to become one of those people who's too cool to be a fan of just one team. I'm going to root for whoever I like. Probably coaches. But not the Dolphins. Never again. I can promise you that.

Which is a real bummer. I have invested a lot of energy into players like Jerome Baker and Xavien Howard. But whatever. They'll still be in the League. I can still wish them the best. I can also hope they go to a team that I do enjoy watching.

I hope that Flores doesn't choose the Bears. It would be a great idea for the organization. They already have the good defense, just have to get the best for Fields. But I'd rather see Flores go someplace like Las Vegas. Actually, if the Raiders don't stick with Rich Bisch, I really think Flores would win with the Raiders tomorrow. Carr wants to play the kind of game Flores wants to call.

I don't know.

It's been so long, I just wanted to write something, even if it was to break up with the Dolphins. Maybe my next post will have an actual theme.