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The Pittsburgh Steelers named Brian Flores as their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach on Saturday.

Flores spent 15 years in a variety of roles with the New England Patriots (2004-18) before serving as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins (2019-21). He was fired by the Dolphins in January despite leading the team to back-to-back winning seasons.



“I am excited about Brian Flores joining our coaching staff given his history of developing and teaching defensive players during his time in the NFL,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “Brian’s resume speaks for itself, and I look forward to him adding his expertise to help our team.”

We have named Brian Flores as our senior defensive assistant/linebackers.

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 19, 2022

Suing NFL, 3 Teams

Flores, who is Black, has filed a class-action lawsuit against three teams and the NFL for racial discrimination. Along with the Dolphins, the Denver Broncos and New York Giants were named in a suit filed earlier this month.

His allegations against Miami include a claim that he was offered $100,000 per loss in 2019 by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who wanted to “tank” to improve draft position and build a contender.

Flores also claims his 2019 interview with the Broncos was a “sham” and that he was only interviewed because of the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a minority candidate. He contends the Giants had already decided to hire Brian Daboll as their next coach before Flores’ January 2022 interview took place.

Flores’ attorneys, Douglas H. Wigdor and John Elefterakis, said the lawsuit will continue despite Saturday’s hiring.

“We congratulate Coach Flores on his new position with the Steelers and thank Coach Tomlin and the organization for giving him this great opportunity,” the lawyers said in a statement. “While Coach Flores is now focused on his new position, he will continue with his race discrimination class action so that real change can be made in the NFL.”

Flores, 40, served as a scouting assistant, pro scout, special teams assistant and coach, defensive assistant and worked with the safeties and linebackers during his time with the Patriots.

–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)