It doesn’t take a long look at the Dolphins roster to realize they may not be very good this year. And even the owner admitted he’s prepared for some short-term pain.
But for coach Brian Flores, the notion that the Dolphins are planning to be bad on purpose is offensive.
“I think the term tanking, I think it’s disrespectful to the game,” Flores said. “I really do. I don’t like that term. I don’t like when people use it. This game has done a lot for me, personally. I’ve said this before, football really leveled the playing field for me as a person. It’s really the one thing that leveled the playing field. To disrespect the game and use that term, it stirs something up inside of me, to put it nicely. Those are my feelings on it.
“I’m going to go into every game trying to win. That’s always going to be my objective. I’m going to go into anything I do trying to win. I’m going to try to instill that into everybody I come across. No, there’s no tanking. You can write that over and over and over again.”
Chances are, he’ll get his wish, as that word became part of the Dolphins fans lexicon for 2019 while the 2018 season was still being played.
“Yes, [the term ‘tanking’] struck a nerve, and I think it will always strike a nerve, because I think it’s disrespectful to the game,” Flores said. “I think to even say that — and I’ve heard it multiple times — I do think it’s a disrespect to the game that I love. Quite honestly, I won’t stand for it, to be honest. That’s where I’m at. We’re going to leave it there and we’re going to try to win every game.”
Flores signed a five-year contract when he was hired, a year longer than standard for first-time coaches. And his approach is the only one a coach can honestly take, while he builds for a future than realistically lies beyond the coming season.