Giants Call Flores’s Allegations ‘Disturbing and Simply False’

The former Miami coach said he took part in two ”sham“ interviews as teams attempted to comply with the Rooney Rule.

The Giants released a new statement on Thursday, calling Brian Flores's allegations concerning the legitimacy of his candidacy “disturbing and simply false.”

The former Miami coach is suing the league, the three franchises and unidentified individuals, alleging discrimination and racism in hiring practices. Among the complaints listed in the filing, Flores said he took part in two ”sham“ interviews as teams attempted to comply with the Rooney Rule, citing the Giants and Broncos.

Flores claims New York had already made the decision to hire Brian Daboll when they were still scheduled to interview Flores last month—which Patriots coach Bill Belichick accidentally revealed to him in a text message, according to the complaint.

In a new statement, the franchise states that the decision to hire Daboll came on the evening of Jan. 28—a day after Flores’s second interview. The Giants say they have “additional concrete and objective evidence to substantiate we did not make our decision” until that night. 

“The allegation that the Giants’ decision had been made prior to Friday evening, January 28, is false. And to base that allegation on a text exchange with Bill Belichick in which he ultimately states that he “thinks” Brian Daboll would get the job is irresponsible,” the franchise said, in part. ”The text exchange occurred the day before Coach Daboll's in-person interview even took place. Giants’ ownership would never hire a head coach based only on a 20-minute zoom interview, which is all that Mr. Daboll had at that point.

“In addition, Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants. Mr. Belichick’s text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search.”

The Giants detailed the timeline of Flores’s interview process, including with whom, when and how long discussions were held, and the franchise’s consideration, calling it “serious and genuine.” They, then, defended their decision to hire Daboll. 

“In his CBS interview yesterday, Mr. Flores was asked if ‘clubs have the right to hire the person they think is the best qualified for the job or the person they feel is right for them?’ Mr. Flores responded, ‘They do. That's very reasonable to me . . .’ That is exactly what we did.”