Earlier this week, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices in the NFL, and specifically within the Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos.
While allegations of racial discrimination within the NFL were not necessarily surprising given the makeup up the coaching and management ranks in comparison with players, one reason many in and around the league were surprised that Flores filed this suit now is because he was still widely considered a candidate for several of the head-coaching jobs that remain open. According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson, Flores is indeed one of the final three candidates for the Houston Texans job, along with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and former NFL quarterback Josh McCown.
According to Anderson, the Texans “spent the last 48 hours or so thoroughly vetting the staffing plans for each of their finalists to ascertain viability, availability, and fit.”
It has been widely speculated that the Texans want to hire McCown, and it was even reported in late January that the Texans were hoping another team would interview McCown for their own head-coaching job, which would provide them cover to hire him as it would then appear that other teams were interested. (It was later reported that the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars had a “conversation” with McCown.)
Flores’ experience in the New England Patriots organization would seemingly make him an attractive candidate in Houston, which is now run by two former Patriots executives in Jack Easterby and Nick Caserio. McCown’s hiring, by contrast, would speak directly to several issues raised by Flores in his lawsuit, considering his relative lack of experience and qualifications compared with other candidates — including Flores, who has already been a successful NFL head coach. McCown’s only coaching experience is as a high-school assistant coach and previously, volunteer quarterbacks coach. Gannon has been noted throughout the hiring cycle as a strong interviewer, though the results for his Eagles defense this season were average.
