Flo and Joe: Dolphins-Giants coaches have lots of history
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) ā Their kids are friends, even were classmates in some cases. All their wives are close with one another. The group has won together, lost together, celebrated Super Bowl championships together.
And this weekend, theyāll all reunite ā just on opposite sides.
Miami (5-7) plays host to the New York Giants (4-7) on Sunday, and the ties that bind run deep. The head coaches, Miamiās Brian Flores and New Yorkās Joe Judge, both worked for Bill Belichick in New England when the Patriots won their most recent Super Bowl. So did a slew of the coaches who are now on their staffs.
āSome of the tightest relationships you have in this business are the relationships you have when youāre broke, grinding with somebody,ā Judge said. āBrian came into this league the same as I did. ... We were given the opportunity to work and had the opportunity to work our way up. He certainly did that and I had the opportunity as well to do that.ā
Judge spent eight years with the Patriots before getting the chance to become a head coach with the Giants, starting in 2020. Flores was in New England for 15 years before his opportunity came with the Dolphins, starting in 2019.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
āMy son and his daughter were in the same pre-K class. Weāre talking about people that I have great relationships with,ā Flores said. āBut on Sunday, we are going to compete. Thatās what I know we are going to get from them and they know thatās what they are going to get from us.ā
Flores and Judge keep in touch, using each other as sounding boards from time to time. It wouldnāt seem likely thereās much of that going on this week, of course.
āThose conversations are about our wives, our families,ā Flores said. āOccasionally thereās something football-related that we can get into, a situation or something like that. But most of the time itās not really football at the forefront. I would say we are friends first.ā
This is far from just a Flo-and-Joe storyline. There are plenty of other links. But the head coaches are obviously on center stage.
āI have a tremendous amount of respect for Flo," Judge said. āI really, really do. Heās very, very intelligent, heās got great command, heās a great leader, his players play the right way, they respond the right way, he pushes through adversity. I think he does all the right things."
Giants quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski was with the Patriots for three Super Bowl titles, then left New England to be a coach under Flores in Miami in 2019, then left Miami to join Judgeās staff in New York. Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer was in New England for the last three Super Bowl runs. His predecessor as coordinator in Miami was Patrick Graham, who worked with Flores in New England until leaving for a job with the Giants in 2016, then ran the Dolphinsā defense in Floresā first season there, then had interest in returning to the Giants when Judge got the job.
Grahamās wife and Floresā wife are best friends. But when Graham suggested he might want to return to New York, Flores didnāt hesitate.
āFrom a football coaching standpoint, weāre more brothers than anything,ā Flores said. āI have a lot of respect for him. I would never stand in the way of somebody doing something that they wanted to do. That was something that Pat wanted to do. I have a lot of respect for him and his family. ... Iām always going to support him.ā
There are other links between the teams as well. Flores and three assistants all hail from either New York City or New Jersey. Assistant coaches Rob Leonard and Eric Studesville used to work for the Giants. Both sides have players who have worn the other teamās helmet.
Judge said having the ability to work with Flores, to study how he evaluated college talent and learn what he looks for in a player, helped him make the jump to the ranks of NFL head coach. Flores would say the same about Judgeās role in his own development.
āI take a lot of pride in watching them have success,ā Judge said. āWeāre playing the Dolphins this week, but there are a lot of guys, and Flo being one of them, that when weāre not playing them and theyāre on the other side of the other conference, I do root for. I do pull for those guys.ā
Just not this week.
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL