Steelers assistant Brian Flores reveals state of relationship with Bill Belichick

Brian Flores recently shined light into the relationship with his former mentor, New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick.

As Pro Football Talk notes, a key point in Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL, the Dolphins and the Giants is that Flores’ former boss, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, texted Flores before he interviewed to tell him he was getting the Giants job — only to then say he was mistaken and it was actually Brian Daboll getting the job.

Asked by Bryant Gumbel on the upcoming episode of HBO’s Real Sports whether he has talked to Belichick, Flores said he hasn’t, and that he doesn’t think he will unless they happen to see each other at an NFL event.

“I mean there’s potential that we could — we could run into each other,” Flores said. “I mean I’d be open to a conversation. But, no . . . we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Flores also said the Patriots never showed interest in bringing him back to their coaching staff.

“No. I didn’t talk to anyone from New England,” Flores said.

Brian Flores reveals insight into Pittsburgh Steelers deal

Flores said the deal moved swiftly that landed him in Pittsburgh.

In an interview with Bryant Gumbel of Real Sports, Flores said that it “all happened very fast” because he called Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin “to get some counsel” about his next steps last Thursday. The two men spoke again on Friday and “that conversation turned into an opportunity” with the team that Flores accepted on Friday night

Gumbel followed up on that by asking if he thinks Tomlin threw Flores a “lifeline” as a result of the lawsuit Brian Flores filed against the NFL and several teams alleging discriminatory hiring practices for head coaching jobs.

“I’m a very — capable coach in this league,” Flores said. “But I do feel like he saw a situation where there was — a very — experienced coach — who could help his staff, who was also a Black coach in the league. And I think — I think that — that kind speaks to what we’re talkin’ about.”

In a move that was felt throughout the league, Flores recently filed a lawsuit against the NFL on the basis of racial bias.

“This Brian Flores lawsuit against the NFL is going to resonate throughout sports and be a significant moment in the history of the league,” Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports said. “I’ve spoken to two other coaches who believe they have the receipts to be a part of the class. This could be a tsunami before it’s all over.”