Dolphins voluntarily removed themselves from Deshaun Watson hunt

By firing head coach Brian Flores on Monday, the Miami Dolphins essentially punted on Deshaun Watson this offseason.

The Dolphins firing Flores was a relative surprise compared to other moves on Monday morning, most notably the Bears getting rid of Matt Nagy.

Nonetheless, Miami needs a new head coach. Flores was just 43 years old, and also served as one of the primary reasons Deshaun Watson was open to a trade to the Dolphins. Suddenly, that pairing looks a bit more murky.

Watson’s situation itself remains questionable, as he’s facing civil suits regarding alleged sexual assaults. Until those are resolved, no team will trade for him, especially considering what the Texans are asking for in return.

Dolphins: Will Miami trade for Deshaun Watson?

Dolphins ownership believes in Tua Tagovailoa, while Flores wasn’t necessarily always sold. Flores believes Tua’s flaws were masked at Alabama, and in his time with Miami, it’s easy to see how he could come to that conclusion.

Tagovailoa was injured on multiple occasions, struggling to stay healthy. Even when he was healthy, Tua’s decision-making was suspect at best, though he did improve a bit this year. Tagovailoa’s ceiling is nowhere near that of Watson, hence management’s interest in bringing in a quarterback of Watson’s caliber in the first place.

But Watson had a connection to Flores, evidently. By firing him, there’s no guarantee Watson will waive his no-trade clause to match with the Dolphins.

Before Flores’ time in Miami, the Dolphins had just one winning season in almost a decade. Since 2018, Flores had built the Dolphins into a winner with two winning campaigns. It wasn’t tremendous success, but it was far better than in previous regimes.

And no, Miami has no intent of bringing in Jim Harbaugh, making good on rumors he wants to leave Michigan for the NFL. This was all done on a whim, making the decision-making by Stephen Ross all the more confusing.