"Just the reality of the sport" - Tom Brady reflects on recent head coach firings involving Brian Flores

Tom Brady has avoided the chopping block that comes for most NFL players and coaches. Brian Flores was not so lucky, though. And that seems to have made Tom Brady appreciate the ruthlessness of sport in general and how it can come for you at any moment.

On Tuesday, he spoke about former divisional rivals, the Miami Dolphins, from when he was with the New England Patriots and about how they decided to part ways with Brian Flores, among other teams who have gone down a similar route.

"Football is a very tough business," said Brady. "It's a business, of winning and losing. And, you know, it's a challenging thing for the coaches. It's a challenging thing for the players, when they get fired, a lot of players get fired in the NFL all the time, they get fired every week. You know, it's just the reality of the sport. So you just have to do your best every week, you know, and continue to learn, continue to grow whatever role you're in."

Tom Brady's long association with Brian Flores

Though there was stoicism from Tom Brady, it seemed masked by an inner realization that in the NFL no job is permanent, even if you show the mettle for it. At the end of the regular season, there are always teams that part with coaches. If you are Urban Meyer, who combines a devastating lack of self-awareness with a losing record, you may get fired before that.

Just this week coaches like Mike Zimmer and Matt Nagy were released from their positions. But it was not a surprising decision as both the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, respectively, had losing records at the end of the season. What came out of the blue was the firing of Brian Flores.

NFLs black Monday in full effect. 3 coaches fired before 10am.

Bears Matt Nagy
Vikings Mike Zimmer
Dolphins Brian Flores

The last one is a huge shocker. Flores brought a real toughness and a brilliant scheme to their defense. It’s hardly his fault they drafted the wrong QB

Brian Flores led the Miami Dolphins to a 9-8 winning record, recovering from an early-season slump to come into playoff contention at one point. He had two winning seasons out of three, and his first season where he had a losing record was due to an offense missing several pieces. Hence, it came as a surprise when he was fired, with rumors indicating that his relationship with the general manager had become untenable.

Tom Brady could feel the pain there as he worked with Brian Flores when he was a member of the New England Patriots. Flores was an assistant coach and defensive playcaller in his last Super Bowl win as a Patriot. The quarterback has seen the meticulousness of the coach's work and it must be hard for him to see someone he knows so well lose a job.

Video: Tom Brady talks about having another opposing coach who knows him well, facing Miami and former Patriots assistant Brian Flores on Sunday. https://t.co/6J0sNHaI7Q

But at the end of the day, in a league that throws people by the wayside even for the smallest transgressions, Tom Brady remains standing tall until the very end. It shows the level of perfection he has achieved and continues to achieve at an age when most NFL players are long retired and perhaps coaching, only to be fired.