PALM BEACH, Fla. – New York Giants co-owner John Mara again strongly denied allegations made by a lawsuit brought by head coach candidate Brian Flores, who accused his organization of a “sham” interview and insisted that the Giants would not agree to the court.
Additionally, Mara claimed the organization had no contact with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who according to the lawsuit inadvertently told Flores he wouldn’t get the job before he was even interviewed.
Flores claimed in the lawsuit that the Giants made their decision to hire Brian Daboll, a white candidate, before he got his chance in front of the team’s leadership. Florence is black.
Mara insists everything is “wrong”. He says he won’t back down and is confident the Giants have gone through a thorough and fair process.
“It’s not settled,” Mara said Sunday at the NFL’s annual meetings. “Because the allegations are false. We are very comfortable with our recruitment process. It was a fair process and we ultimately made our decision based on many factors, none of which had anything to do with breed.”
Mara insists the Giants didn’t let anyone communicate their intentions with Belichick during the trial. Mara said he hasn’t spoken to Belichick since the Giants attended joint practices and had a preseason matchup with the Patriots in the summer.
Belichick is a former Giants employee (1979-1990) and still has ties to the organization. He helped former Giants coach Joe Judge get hired.
Mara doesn’t think it matters.
“I think the truth will eventually come out,” he said. “[Belichick] has not spoken to anyone in our organization.” Mara’s nephew, Tim McDonnell, had communicated with Flores throughout the trial, according to the lawsuit. The day after Judge was fired, he reached out to the former Miami Dolphins head coach.
The text exchanges Flores had with Belichick, he believes, imply that the Giants took place before the Giants conducted in-person interviews. His timing calls into question the integrity of Mara and the Giants.
“It’s never comfortable,” Mara said. “Unfortunately, it’s the price of business these days.”
Still, it’s not a price he’s willing to accept.
“That’s wrong,” Mara repeated. “I have said again and again that we had a very thorough process. We interviewed some great candidates. We made our decision based on many factors. [General manager] yeah [Schoen’s] previous relationship with Brian [Daboll] certainly occurred. But at the end of the day we thought Brian Daboll would be the best fit for us.”
Daboll and Schoen had worked together in Buffalo for the past three years. Schoen was the deputy general manager; Daboll the Bills offensive coordinator.
Flores has since been hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.