Flores vs. McVay a knockout in Super Bowl LIII. Can Dolphins coach repeat in rematch?
That February 2019 day Brian Flores was introduced as the Miami Dolphins head coach, club owner Stephen Ross began the presentation by reminding everyone Flores had just accomplished something remarkable the previous evening.
“I’d first like to welcome and congratulate Brian on his great Super Bowl coaching yesterday,” Ross said proudly. “It was incredible. You feel good after you see something like that. “
Ross felt good because Flores, calling the plays for the New England Patriots defense, tamed the Los Angeles Rams and their explosive offense. And now that coach who helped author the game plan, called the right plays, and limited the Rams to only a field goal, was working for Miami.
He was going to be bringing that kind of magic to Miami.
Well, here we are two seasons later and now we get a chance to see if Flores and his Dolphins can weave similar wizardry against a very similar Rams offense in Sunday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium.
And allow me to take you to take you to the book’s the last chapter where Flores dismisses the idea that what happened 20 months ago can be applied now:
“Anytime there’s some history you look at it,” Flores said, “but things are so different -- they’ve got different players, we’ve got different players. I wish I could cut and paste that game plan but that’s just not how it goes.
“We don’t have the same players. Different team, different time. [Rams quarterback Jared] Goff’s got a season-and-a-half under his belt from an experience standpoint. So does [Rams head coach] Sean McVay, so does the offensive line. There’s so many layers to that.
“I understand the question and the familiarity, having played against this group before. But every game is a little bit different, every season is a little bit different. None of them have been the same, no game’s ever been the same. So, really, I don’t take much from it.”
And there it you have it.
End of column.
Except there’s a bigger point to be made. Flores was not hired to bring the exact game plan to the Dolphins, no matter how inspired it might have been.
He was hired to bring 16 brand new and equally inspired game plans per season to the Dolphins and the fact he did it that once on such a grand stage suggested he might do it for his new team.
Flores, you see, came to Miami to turn a franchise around. And part of that is done by successfully matching wits with coaches such as McVay, who is seemingly everyone’s favorite offensive genius the past few years.
So the Rams have an offensive genius? OK, we call with our defensive genius who made you feel quite poorly about that Super Bowl you two played.
That’s the point behind the Flores hire.
He must embody the idea that the strategy and scheming on the other sideline can be overcome with superior strategy and smarts and scheming on the Miami sideline. Because we’ve seen him do it before in Super Bowl LIII.
McVay, by the way, has spent a lot of time talking about how he got it handed to him that night in Atlanta.
“There’s no other way to put it: I’m pretty numb right now but definitely I got out-coached,” he said after that 13-3 loss. “I didn’t do nearly good enough for our football team.”
I asked him about it again this week and, again, McVay made it clear Flores got the better of him that day.
“Coach Flores did a great job,” McVay said on a phone line from Southern California. “They ended up winning the world title that night in large part because of the defensive game plan. I definitely don’t run away from the fact I didn’t do a nearly good enough job.
“But hats off to coach Flores, and Bill Belichick, and the Patriots defensive staff.”
McVay, bright and energetic and clearly special, admires the man he’s going to face on Sunday.
A lot.
“I’ve always had a huge amount of respect for coach Flores from afar,” McVay said. “I think he handles himself incredibly well. He’s got a great command about himself. In the little bit of interaction that we’ve had with one another, I’ve really thought very highly of him.
“And people that I have a huge amount of respect for in this business and have worked closely with him, speak the world of him. So, he’s a great leader. You can see what he’s doing with the football team and the belief these players have and the way they compete in all three phases. Nothing but respect on my end for coach Flores.”
Now back to that final chapter of the book...
Even if Flores did cut and paste his Super Bowl game plan, he wouldn’t admit it to me on the record. But let’s quickly examine what that game plan generally entailed for comparison’s sake once Sunday’s game is over.
The Patriots in 2018 were a man coverage defense. Yes, like the 2020 Dolphins.
Except the Patriots opened that Super Bowl playing zone coverage.
“They definitely changed it up with what they had done over the past couple of weeks,” McVay said after the game. “Their coverage principles were definitely mixed from what they had put on tape.”
They also devised unorthodox pass rushes and six-man fronts that included two linebackers to both fit gaps against the Los Angeles running attack and confuse both Goff and the Rams’ blocking on pass plays.
“Guys who had been rushers all year, different guys were rushing,” Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth told the Washington Post.
It’s important to note Flores, Belichick and the entire New England defensive staff, which included current Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, had two weeks to prepare their game plan for the Rams prior to that Super Bowl.
The Dolphins had a bye last week. They’ve had two weeks to prepare their game plan for Sunday’s game against the Rams.
