Brian Flores has had eyes for the New York Giants since his Miami Dolphins firing. And the Giants are reciprocating his interest.
Sources tell the Daily News that members of the Giants organization have contacted multiple members of the Dolphins’ support staff and assistant coaches to do due diligence on Flores ahead of his scheduled Thursday interview in East Rutherford.
And they’ve received encouraging and glowing reviews in return.
The Giants aren’t shy about acknowledging that they’ve done meaningful work on Flores.
They make calls on all candidates, but this homework on Flores’ time in Miami reflects a specifically thorough process on him, reinforces the Giants’ serious interest, and indicates the feedback is positive.
That’s important because there was plenty of negative noise on how Flores’ tenure in Miami ended, though sources say the coach’s main sticking point with the organization centered on its need for improvement at quarterback.
It’s hard to blame Flores for wanting more after watching the transcendent level of play from the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes this past Sunday.
Whether the Giants could quench Flores’ thirst for an elite quarterback is a fair question. But even if they give Daniel Jones one more year to prove himself, at least the Giants have a new GM in Joe Schoen who knows what a great QB looks like, having helped draft Allen to the Bills in 2018.
Flores overachieved in Miami, going 24-25 overall, but 19-14 in his final two years after fighting through a 2019 tank attempt. He won eight of his last nine games.
Schoen’s Bills colleague, Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, still seems like the Giants’ frontrunner after a second interview on Tuesday that went well, by all accounts. Daboll also interviewed for the Dolphins’ coaching job.
Giants defensive coordinator Pat Graham is expected to interview today. Flores will go Thursday, and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier also landed a second interview in person Friday in East Rutherford.
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo only would be able to do a second interview after the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, so it’s not clear whether that interview will or can happen.
The Giants already have shown keen interest in Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who interviewed in person Monday. They reached out to him before Schoen’s hiring to make sure he was aware of their interest, and their defensive coordinator interview request for Quinn’s Dallas colleague, Joe Whitt Jr., reflected their work on Quinn, too.
But Giants co-owner John Mara also made sure to connect with people close to Flores last week, which was a significant step by the Giants’ president and CEO to express interest specifically in Miami’s unexpectedly available coach.
And since, the Giants’ work behind the scenes has reflected that Thursday’s interview puts Flores firmly in play to compete for the job.
