NFL Attempts To Use The Steelers Against Brian Flores In Lawsuit

One of the most shocking additions for the Pittsburgh Steelers was adding former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach last season. Flores had been a decent coach for the Dolphins and led them to a 9-8 season before being fired. The reason for him being fired was because the Dolphins had reportedly been trying to get former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton as their own. Because of this, the Dolphins would be fined $1.5 million and had to forfeit their 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick as well.

This would benefit the Steelers in multiple ways in 2023 as they were able to bring him in to help mold the defense, as well as allow them to pick one pick higher in the second round. The Steelers' second-round pick of pick 32, which would have been originally a first-round pick, got them Joey Porter Jr. Porter was someone that many fans wanted them to pick in the first round, but the Steelers were able to steal him with the first pick in the second round.

The biggest issue with the Steelers bringing in Flores is the fact that he had a pending lawsuit against the NFL just weeks before the Steelers brought him on the squad. The class-action lawsuit was for alleged racial discrimination. This was because he was a selected candidate for a few head coaching jobs, but he felt that it was just to fill the Rooney Rule that came from former Steelers owner Dan Rooney.

The Rooney Rule was established in 2003 that requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. At the time, there was only an interviewing quota that to be met for teams. The first hiring quota was created in 2022 that mandated that teams had to have an offensive coach staff member of a minority or a woman. Over the years, the Steelers have been strong supporters of bringing in different ethnic groups into the NFL. 

The Steelers Were Willing To Give Flores An Opportunity

Flores' lawsuit against the NFL was almost put to a halt by the league. Federal Judge Valerie Caproni said on Tuesday that she will not change her mind to let Flores put the league and three of its teams on trial over the alleged discrimination. The NFL tried to use the fact that Flores had a contract with Steelers last year, which would prevent him from taking any claim to trial. That was because the Steelers were willing to give him an opportunity when no one else would because of this lawsuit that he had a "job" in the NFL. 

Judge Caproni would rebuke the effort from the NFL due to the fact that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not sign Flores's contract with the team. This meant that the contract that he had with the Steelers was not valid or binding. Caproni would mention her support for the minorities in the league by saying how troubling the history of discrimination was in the league.

"[The] long history of systematic discrimination toward Black players, coaches, and managers -- are incredibly troubling." Caproni then said, "Although the clear majority of professional football players are Black, only a tiny percentage of coaches are Black." She then commented that this was "difficult to understand."

The NFL attempting to try and halt this lawsuit is not a good look for them. It could essentially be used as more evidence of the league using discrimination against the coaches and owners. What makes it worse is trying to use the Steelers against Flores when they were most likely the only team in the league that would give him a job in 2022. This trial has been going on since February of 2022 and hopefully can get resolved sooner rather than later.

So, what do you think, Steeler Nation? Will Flores get another chance as a head coach in the future?