Ryan Fitzpatrick says Brian Flores was a ‘dictator’ by the end of his Dolphins tenure: ‘His ego grew so big’

Brian Flores lasted as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins for three seasons, from the 2019 campaign through the 2021 season. The Dolphins were overall mediocre during Flores’ tenure, as they had a regular-season record of 24-25 with him at the helm and didn’t make a playoff appearance during that span.

Ryan Fitzpatrick played for the Dolphins under Flores during the latter’s first two seasons coaching the team and even made 15 appearances (and 13 starts) in the 2019 campaign. He recently reflected on his time playing for Flores and boldly claimed that the 43-year-old functioned as a “dictator” by the end of his tenure leading the Dolphins.

It’s worth noting that Fitzpatrick wasn’t with Miami during Flores’ final season there.

As mentioned, Fitzpatrick had a big role in his maiden season with the Dolphins, but his role changed in his second and final season in Miami. He logged only nine games played and seven starts in the 2020 season because of a young and talented signal-caller, Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa started nine games as a rookie, and Miami went 6-3 in those contests. In the games Fitzpatrick started that season, the Dolphins’ record was just 4-3.

After he saw a relegation in his role in the 2020 campaign with Tagovailoa in the fold, Fitzpatrick opted to sign with the Washington Commanders in the 2021 offseason. Unfortunately, he only played in one game with Washington due to a season-ending injury.

Fitzpatrick isn’t the only Dolphins player who played under Flores who has made some curious comments about him since he stopped serving as the team’s head coach. Tagovailoa insinuated several months back that he thinks Flores is a “terrible person.” When Flores was asked about the comments, he seemingly took the high road with his response.

Tagovailoa’s development under Flores wasn’t always smooth, and the former Dolphins coach sometimes gave Fitzpatrick opportunities over Tagovailoa during the quarterback’s rookie season.

The Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel to be the team’s next head coach after Flores was relieved of his duties, and McDaniel just wrapped up his third season in Miami.

The 2024 season marked the least successful of McDaniel’s tenure to this point, however, as Miami finished with a record below the .500 mark at 8-9 and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season. The Dolphins dropped their season finale to the New York Jets on Jan. 5 by a score of 32-20.

Flores, meanwhile, is now the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, who are getting ready for the playoffs. Flores is a candidate to land a head-coaching job this cycle.