FOXBORO -- New England Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores was a popular head coaching candidate during the team's playoff bye week and reportedly interviewed with several teams.
ESPN's Adam Schefter, citing sources, reported last Sunday that the Miami Dolphins are "waiting for the Patriots' season to end, so they can finalize a deal with Brian Flores to become their next head coach."
Patriots players, including cornerback Stephon Gilmore, were not surprised to see Flores draw head coaching interest from teams around the league.
"He's done a great job," Gilmore said Thursday. "He can be a friend, he can be a coach and get on you. He can do everything for you. He really cares for the players. He pushes everybody every week and gets the best out of his players. I'm not surprised (Flores is drawing interest). He's a great coach. He pushes everybody to get the best out of them."
Patriots safety Patrick Chung gave Flores similar praise when asked about the 37-year-old coach Thursday.
"He's done a great job -- we're in the big games," Chung said. "He's definitely a good coach. He likes to mix things up, so it keeps guys off-balance."
Flores has perhaps his toughest challenge of the season coming up Sunday when the Patriots go on the road to play the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs were the highest-scoring team in the regular season with 35.3 points scored per game, and they put up 40 points on the Patriots defense when these teams played at Gillette Stadium back in Week 6.
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Helping create a game plan that leads to the Patriots beating the Chiefs for the second time this season would be an impressive bullet point for Flores' to add to his coaching resumé.
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