Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores returns to Miami on Sunday night for the first time since being fired by the Dolphins. But the ex-Fins coach isn't viewing it as a revenge game.
"No, no," Flores said Thursday laughing, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "That's not the way I'm looking at it now."
Following his dismissal from Miami, Flores filed a lawsuit on Feb. 1 against the Dolphins, three other teams, and the league for discriminatory hiring and firing practices. The case, which was joined by Carolina Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks and former NFL assistant Ray Horton, remains tied up in the courts, with a judge to determine whether to send it to arbitration or proceed toward a potential jury trial.
"It's a nonfactor," coach Mike Tomlin said this week of the pending lawsuit. "It's irrelevant in terms of what we're doing here today in preparation for this game. It is a non-story for us. It really is."
The focus has been on the field, where the 2-4 Steelers attempt to remain in the AFC North hunt while the Dolphins seek to stop a three-game skid.
Flores, who earned a 24-25 record in Miami with back-to-back winning seasons before being fired, said he holds no animosity toward his former players and staff.
"I don't have bad memories of the place," Flores said. "I have a lot of good memories, but my focus is here right now."
"When I think of that place, I think of all the relationships that were built there that are bigger than football and will go a long way beyond football. There's a lot of those that like that there, players, coaches, support staff. That's kind of where my thought process goes."
