Brian Flores: Tanking Talk is Disheartening to Hear

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has dismissed the notion that the franchise is tanking. 

“This game means a lot to me,” he said, per Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald. 

“I wouldn’t disrespect the game with that. Again, no, we’re not. We’re going to try to win every game. I think that’s disrespectful to even to say that. … It’s disheartening to hear people talk about it, to even say that. For a guy who respects the game as much as the game has done for me, when people say that, it’s extremely sad.”

For fans, it may be hard to believe the Dolphins are trying to win when they’ve lost most of their veteran talent over the offseason.

Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills and Kiko Alonso all departed Miami this weekend. Those were the latest moves in a summer of upheaval for the Dolphins.

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Tunsil in particular is a big loss, however Brian Flores believes Miami got enough in return to justify the deal.

“You guys saw the compensation,” he said. “He was part of that. It was one of those things where he’s a very good player. I like him, but at the end of the day we just felt like this was the best move for us. You got to make tough decisions when you’re sitting in this seat. Chris Grier, Brandon [Shore] and myself spent a lot of time talking through it and thinking about it. At the end of the day, we felt like this was best.

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While it’s disrespectful to say the team is actually tanking, it’s accurate to say that they’re sacrificing the present moment. In building for the future, they have secured a 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick.

“There’s a lot of conversations with a lot of teams on a daily basis. We’ve had several different offers. My reaction’s always the same — does this help this team? Does it help this organization? All of those things factor into my feeling on a particular trade. In this instance, I thought this trade would help this organization.”