I wasn't in a rush to become a head coach. I really wasn't.
I had a good job in New England.
I've had guns pointed at me by police officers.
I've worked so hard to get to where I am in football, to become a head coach.
I want to coach football. That's what I'm called to do.
I would say the hardest part of my job is I don't get to spend as much time with my wife and kids as I would like, but I also try to get as much time with them as possible.
Every day is a challenge in this league, but I kind of embrace it and enjoy it.
I'm not really into individual awards, especially in a team game like this.
I just think anytime you go through experiences, you get better - whether it's something as simple as scheduling, days off, shells practice versus padded practices, do we defer the coin toss, do we take the ball, do we want to take a timeout in this situation?
My mom always got me underwear for Christmas. That's my favorite gift.
I think the term tanking, I think it's disrespectful to the game. I really do. I don't like that term. I don't like when people use it.
This game has done a lot for me personally. I've said this before, football really leveled the playing field for me as a person.
I'm going to go into every game trying to win. That's always going to be my objective. I'm going to go into anything I do trying to win. I'm going to instill that in everybody I come across.
The goal is to put the players in the best position to do what they do well.
I think you've got to have an internal motivation, an internal drive, a constant chip on your shoulder.
To me, in this league, if your only motivation is what everyone else says, you're probably not going to be here that long.
It's football. You need 11 guys on each play and go out there and play together, play as a team.
We believe in developing players and improving players on a daily basis. That would be the opposite of giving someone a 10-game audition.
I think I try to look out for the best interest of the players individually, the team.
I remember being a first-year position coach and going into next season saying 'I should have been better last year, I'm better now.'
I'm my own man. I'm Brian Flores.
Look, coaching is what I love, it's a passion of mine, a calling. I'm gifted to do it. The reason why is that I love helping young people reach their potential and become the best version of themselves, on and off the field.
I learned how to be tough, and that transcended into something else, that I wasn't going to back down from anything, academically, football wise, any challenge I was presented with.
I think I'm good at compartmentalizing and taking care of what I've got to take care of.
We lived in the projects in Brooklyn, the elevator used to be broken, and we used to walk up 20 flights of steps and then walk down.
You don't hit on every player. On every trade. On every draft pick. Show me a team that's hit on every one. And I'll applaud that team.
Look, you can never have enough quarterbacks.
I would say I felt similar pressures that Black people feel in all fields, not just football. That we have to do more, that we have to be better, that we have to be exceptional just to stay on a level playing field. And it's in a lot of ways unfair, but I know I'm not alone in that feeling.
The numbers speak for themselves as far as the hiring, firing and the lack of opportunities for minority and Black head coaches and executives in the National Football League, and we need the change.
There's instances where you do everything right and you work hard and things don't work out. That's part of life, and it ends up being life lessons for some guys.
I'm going to try to get our team to work hard, play together, play with good fundamentals and technique, play as a team, try to put the team first. That's a hard thing to accomplish as a coach. That's my goal. You can call it whatever you want. You can call it 'Patriot Way,' but to me, it's just trying to coach and play good football.
I've had the privilege of being a part of many different circles that have included some very powerful and influential people of all different races and genders.
This idea that players were kneeling in support of social justice was something some people couldn't wrap their head around. The outrage that I saw in the media and the anger I felt in some of my own private conversations caused me to sever a few long-standing friendships.
At the end of the day, you never want turnovers anywhere.
I'm trying to challenge all my players. I'm going to do that how I see fit.
I have been in this league for a long time, and if you are not motivated on a daily basis, you won't be in this league long - that's players, coaches, that's personnel, that's everybody.
I think every team's rebuilding. That's this league. Every team rebuilds every year because no team is the same every year.
I'm passionate about coaching.
Anytime I get to get out there, to help somebody with a technique, a fundamental, I'm in my happy place.
I'm always excited when it comes to coaching football, mentoring guys and them becoming better people.
I try to direct my energy to things I can control.
Minkah's a football player. I think his strength is that he can handle a lot of different positions. He's versatile. Free safety, strong safety, corner, Star, 'backer. You can do whatever you want with him.
We've all got to deal with adversity in life. It's something that's not new to me.
None of us are exempt from tragedy.
Everyone's got things going on in their lives.
I think being genuine, and being authentic, is a big part of leadership.
This is a demanding league, so we've gotta be demanding on our players. They need to understand that.
I tell my players this - I can go out there and get conditioned if I just go out there and run every day. I'm not going to do that, not like they do; but I could do that. Any of us in here can do that. That really takes no talent; it just takes hard work, effort.
Everybody talks about, 'This guy is talented; that guy is talented.' The talent on the team and a lot of things in this game come down to focus, execution, not making a bad penalty. Really, that's not a talent issue. It's a focus issue; it's a mindset issue.