DAVIE Jawaan Taylor Jersey , Fla. (AP) — the Super Bowl, he paused for several seconds and laughed.“I kissed my wife on the field,” Flores said.Then it was on to the next challenge, and a big one — fixing the Miami Dolphins. Flores, the New England Patriots‘ linebackers coach and defensive play-caller, was hired Monday as Miami’s head coach.He accepted the job hours after helping the Patriots shut down the high-scoring Los Angeles Rams for a 13-3 victory in the title game Sunday night in Atlanta.“It has been a whirlwind 24 hours,” Flores said with a smile at a news conference that drew two dozen cameras.“Looking at this crowd here, you’d think we won the Super Bowl,” Miami owner Stephen Ross said. “I’ve never seen this many people in this room. … To me, you start an organization by signing a great leader. I believe we’ve found that leader.”Flores was the first person the Dolphins interviewed after they fired coach Adam Gase on Dec. 31. They decided on Jan. 11 to offer the job to Flores but had to wait until New England’s season ended to complete an agreement.“I wasn’t in a rush to become a head coach,” said Flores, 37. “I had a good job in New England.”Flores said the job with the Patriots’ longtime AFC East foil was appealing because he shared a vision with general manager Chris Grier on how to build a winner.While preparing for the Super Bowl, Flores also began to hire a Miami staff. The group is expected to include former Colts and Lions head coach Jim Caldwell as assistant head coach, Patriots receivers coach Chad O’Shea as offensive coordinator and Packers assistant Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator.The son of Honduran immigrants, Flores grew up in Brooklyn and has spent his entire coaching career with the Patriots. He joined them in 2004 and became their de facto defensive coordinator a year ago after Matt Patricia left to join the Lions as their head coach.Flores is the ninth former assistant to Bill Belichick to become a head coach.“I think he’ll be awesome,” Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty said. “But he’s in the division, so I told him he can’t win too many games.”Flores becomes the NFL’s fourth minority head coach for 2019 Josh Oliver Jersey , which is half the total of last season. Diversity advocates have questioned the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any head coach or general manager vacancy.A former Boston College linebacker, Flores also coached offense and special teams with New England. He has a long relationship with Grier, who took charge of football operations in the recent organizational shake-up.Both started as scouts for the Patriots, the Dolphins’ longtime nemeses in the AFC East. Flores will report to Grier under the team’s new, more streamlined leadership structure.Among those attending the news conference were Flores’ wife, Jennifer, their three children and his high school coach. Also on hand was the last quarterback to lead Miami to a Super Bowl, Dan Marino, in 1984, and the last quarterback to help the Dolphins win one, Bob Griese, in 1973.Flores is leaving a team that won its sixth Super Bowl since 2002 to join a franchise that has not won a playoff game since 2000 and plans to rebuild after another dismal season.The Dolphins went 7-9 in 2018 to miss the playoffs for the 15th time in 17 years. They allowed 6,257 yards, the most in franchise history, and the offense was also among the league’s worst, finishing ranked 31st.One win came at home against New England, when the Dolphins scored a miraculous touchdown with a pass and double lateral on the final play. The Patriots had expected a Hail Mary pass Deandre Baker Jersey , and second-guessers complained that their secondary included lumbering 6-foot-6 Rob Gronkowski.“My last memory here wasn’t a great one,” Flores said with a chuckle.That improbable finish couldn’t save Gase. Ross fired him, ordered a roster overhaul and acknowledged it may take several seasons to build a winner. The revamp is likely to include the departure of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has been with Miami since 2012 but has never taken a postseason snap.Flores becomes Miami’s 10th head coach since 2004, including three interim coaches. Grier noted that two of Flores’ predecessors, Gase and Tony Sparano, reached the playoffs in their first season before the team backslid, so Miami will try a more patient approach.“We want to build this where it’s long term and you can win for many years, instead of trying to go year to year,” Grier said.Flores is braced for the frustrations that come with rebuilding.“That’s part of leadership — dealing with adversity,” he said. “There’s going to be some pain. There’s pain for every team.”As for his curtailed Super Bowl celebration, he wasn’t complaining.“No, this is not getting cheated at all,” Flores said. “That was a great experience, but I guess I’ve always been this way — I look forward.” DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have three straight home games coming up — probably their last chance to turn their season around and make a run at a playoff spot.The opposition is formidable, though.After three consecutive losses, the Lions host Carolina on Sunday. That game is followed by a Thanksgiving matchup with Chicago and another home test against the NFC West-leading Rams. There’s time for Detroit to rally http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/oshane-ximines-jersey , but the path forward looks difficult.“I think everybody’s doing everything they can to try and get us going,” said Stafford, whose team has scored only 20 first-half points over the past three games. “I think it’s a total team effort. Everybody’s trying to play better at all positions.”The Lions (3-6) will face a Carolina team that’s in a much better spot, although the Panthers (6-3) are trying to rebound as well from their most recent outing, a 52-21 loss to the Steelers on Nov. 8. The 52 points allowed tied the most in franchise history. Pittsburgh scored on seven of its first eight possessions.“I don’t think that is indicative of who we are as a football team,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “One game is not going to define who we are going forward. It is an example of what happens if we don’t play to our abilities and stick to our fundamentals, don’t play the defense, offense or special teams play the way that it is called.”The Lions and Panthers are in different divisions, but they did meet last season, when Carolina won 27-24 in Detroit. Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns in that game, and Stafford threw for two.A few more things to watch when the Lions host the Panthers:MISMATCH?The Lions are 28th in the NFL against the run, and now they’ll have to face Carolina’s versatile running back Christian McCaffrey, who has seven touchdowns in the past three weeks. McCaffrey has run 45 times for 201 yards and caught 14 passes for 150 yards during that span.McCaffrey has been on the field for 96 percent of his team’s offensive snaps, more than any running back in the NFL.ROLLINGNewton has thrown for at least two touchdowns in eight consecutive games, a franchise record.“Obviously one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL and someone that can really change the outcome of the game all by himself,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “Still has obviously all the athletic ability, the arm strength now just kind of combined with the experience and his knowledge of the game. And he’s just really been able to take it to the next level and carry those guys around him.”SPEED ON TURFThe Panthers will get to see how their much-improved team speed does in their first game this season on artificial turf.Carolina added D.J. Moore from Maryland in the first round of the NFL draft Julian Love Jersey , while fellow wide receiver Curtis Samuel back after an injury-plagued rookie season.“It’s going to be fun to see,” Rivera said. “We’ve got some quick guys who will be even quicker on turf.”PROTECTIONDetroit has allowed 16 sacks in the past two games, and the Lions put guard T.J. Lang on injured reserve this week. The Lions still have a couple of recent first-round draft picks on their offensive line in Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, but pass protection will be an area to watch this week.Detroit’s running game has improved a bit, but it wasn’t of much use last week after the Lions fell behind 26-0 in the second quarter of a loss at Chicago .MEETING AGAINDE Julius Peppers of the Panthers is still a factor at age 38. He had a sack in the game against Pittsburgh.Back in 2010, Peppers sacked Stafford, injuring his right shoulder. Peppers played for Chicago then, and he’s also spent time with Green Bay, so the Lions have seen plenty of him.“He’s 6-6, 295 pounds, whatever he is. Extremely athletic, very smart player,” Stafford said. “He’s seen a lot of football, he’s a smart rusher. We’ve seen him do just some things late in the pass rush, getting sacks, that’s pretty special.”
