AFC Notes: Bills, Brian Flores, Dolphins, Jets

Bills

• The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn points out that included in former Dolphins HC Brian Flores‘ lawsuit against the NFL is a text from Giants co-director of player personnel Tim McDonnell indicating Brian Daboll may have been interested in leaving the Bills in order to be Flores’ potential offensive coordinator because Daboll “wasn’t happy” with Bills HC Sean McDermott.
• The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia thinks the Bills could use this offseason with a new offensive coordinator and OL coach to make a change in philosophy on the offensive line. They’ve been a mix of power and size versus athleticism and mobility in recent seasons. 
• Buscaglia adds the Bills could move on from as many of three out of OL Cody Ford, C Mitch Morse, OL Daryl Williams and OL Jon Feliciano this offseason to save cap space. How they proceed will be telling. 
• For example, Buscaglia notes Morse represents the most cap savings if cut out of that group but he was the best player overall of the bunch, especially in the pin-and-pull looks Buffalo started running late in the season. However, Morse struggled when asked to block downhill in the run game, something much more in the wheelhouse of Feliciano, Williams and Ford given their size. 

Dolphins

• The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports the Dolphins will conduct second interviews with 49ers OC Mike McDaniel and Cowboys OC Kellen Moore later in the week for their vacant head coaching position.
• Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, citing a league source, reports Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross allegedly wanted former HC Brian Flores to meet with Tom Brady before he officially became a free agent in 2020, which would have violated the league’s tampering rules. 
• According to Schad, Flores didn’t think it was the “right time” to recruit Brady given the organization was in the middle of a rebuild, which was considered to be a “long-term plan.”
• Flores said that taking $100,000 per loss from Ross just isn’t in his DNA: “I was never going to stand for it. I think it strained our relationship moving forward. That was a conversation about not doing as much as we needed to do to win football games. ‘Take a flight. Go on vacations. Take 100 thousand dollars per loss.'” (Marcel Louis-Jacques)

Jets

Jets HC Robert Saleh discussed the continuing rebuild of the team when asked about the Bengals reaching the Super Bowl so quickly after recently having the No. 1 overall pick, noting that he has been part of a rebuilding team before with the 49ers.

“I’ve been part of a few of these,” Saleh said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post. “San Francisco, it was Year Three for us. Not to put a number or compare, but there is a blueprint. I know New York doesn’t like to hear time and all that stuff but it is what it is. When you develop within, you draft well, you select the right free agents and you build a culture that you believe in and you stay with continuity and you don’t fall into peer pressure with whatever Cincinnati has had to endure over the last couple of years, you end up reaping the benefits of your patience. We’re excited about the things we’ve got going. Joe and I, we’re in lockstep. We see it exactly the same. We’re excited to attack this offseason and build this roster.”