New York Giants: Why Brian Flores Makes Sense

The New York Giants are yet again looking to rebuild. Well, to some fans it might not be a true rebuild just a retooling of sorts. Getting rid of their head coach Joe Judge, and general manager David Gettleman retiring down was a blessing. While the two had various contributions, neither of them made the Giants competitive enough with their limited success.

Now the New York Giants are looking to the future. They’ve already hired Joe Schoen, who most recently served as the Bills ast. GM. Schoen will take over full GM responsibilities with the Giants and will more than likely be the deciding factor on the new head coach. One of the biggest candidates for the HC gig is former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores. No matter how much the Miami media tries to discredit Flores and his 24-25, he proved he can win with a patchwork team for the Dolphins. Throw out the narrative that he’s under a .500 win %.

Those numbers shouldn’t matter. Yes, it does count in the wins and losses column but Flores’ first year with the Miami Dolphins was spent by the front office trading away whatever wasn’t nailed down to try and accumulate draft picks. There was a culture shift in Miami and in his first season they shipped out talent for picks and who didn’t “buy-in” to the team-first strategy. It was a season dedicated to fixing a broken culture. Shed all the bulky contracts and mass-produced draft picks to help rebuild.

More NFL: What Remaining Team Is Biggest Playoff Threat?

At the time it was the smartest thing Miami could do. Now that they’ve “failed”, all of a sudden every Dolphins media outlet is comparing his record to his predecessor Adam Gase. The narrative has been painted as if he didn’t just take the Dolphins to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in just about two decades.

So what does that have to do with the New York Giants?

Remember back in the “old days” when the Giants had one of the toughest defenses in football? Those cold-weather games in late November and December when the defense would punish teams into mistake-filled submission. They could have that again under Flores. Right now, thanks to Patrick Graham the New York defense was one of the few highlights of the 2021-2022 season. The foundation is already there going forward.

While the Giants are considering Graham as an in-house hire, they would be wise to up the ante. If somehow the team can hire Flores and convince him to keep Graham on as their defensive coordinator, between their two minds, they’d have one of the toughest and stingiest defenses on the field. The two have spent a few different stops together having both worked in New England and Miami. If there’s no bad blood between the two, then New York has to consider.

If Graham is so special, why not hire him as head coach? Simple. It comes down to experience. While Brian Flores only has 3 years under his belt as a head coach, it beats learning on the fly especially when it comes to a quick rebuild. The New York Giants have a decent list of young talent. If they don’t want their time to go to waste in a Giants uniform, they need someone that can build off their current foundation as fast as possible. Not that Graham doesn’t have enough experience under his belt, but there would be a slight learning curve.

Between the two, the defense would find footing against a strong NFC East that features a lot of different looks on offense. Each team in the division has potential and a shut-down defense would keep them closer in divisional standings. From there they could take their time building a stronger foundation on offense. A Flores defense in Miami had the Dolphins win in the last 2 seasons what took the Giants 4.

It’s been a while since teams feared this Giants defense. Not just respected, but actually feared the defense. New York has proved they don’t have to have the best quarterback on the field to win championships but if they can get the right balance down, they’re just as competitive. Brian Flores could deliver that balance to the New York Giants team.