If a rebuild is underway for the Miami Dolphins — as most believe is the case — rookie head coach Brian Flores isn’t all that enamored with the term.
Accustomed to success after working his way up the coaching ranks for the New England Patriots and departing following a Super Bowl victory over the Rams, Flores takes on a Dolphins team coming off a 7-9 season that has accumulated extra draft picks and seen veterans aplenty depart.
However, when asked by NFL Network’s Judy Battista if the team was rebuilding, Flores’ take was that everybody’s rebuilding — every year.
"I think every team’s rebuilding. That’s this league. Every team rebuilds every year because no team is the same every year," Flores said. "So the Patriots are going to be different than they were last year. So are the Bills or Jets. So is every other team. So that’s my personal philosophies. Last year was last year. This year is this year."
As Flores navigated through the Patriots‘ system, perhaps he was bestowed media tips from Bill Belichick.
Nevertheless, Flores is taking on his first head-coaching gig at any level and clichéd answers are nothing new for any head coach.
Hence, Flores is going to take it — wait for it — one day at a time and one game at a time.
"I think right now for the Dolphins, it’s, you know, our goal is to improve every day, just get a bit better every day," Flores said. "I can tell you, we’re going to go try, gonna go out there and try to win every game. That’s gonna be our goal every week. So I think that’s where we’re at."
One takeaway, though, seems to be that Flores is in for the long haul. And he realizes the long haul might be an arduous one and he’s not shying away from the battle.
"I think the foundation is there, and we’ll just, you know, like every other team we’re building," he said. "But we, talk about this is gonna take a lot of hard work. It’s gonna take a lot of sticking together."