Miami Dolphins fans know the most visible changes that Brian Flores has made as head coach, including requiring players to run to the TNT "takes no talent" wall after practice penalties _ which has helped Miami become one of the NFL's least penalized teams _ and implementing a defensive system that necessitates that some players change roles multiple times in a season.
But behind the scenes, Flores quietly has done several other things differently from what some players are accustomed. A look at some of those as he enters the final month of his first season as an NFL head coach:
_ Quizzing players on the game plan.
It's not uncommon for players to be sitting in a meeting and for Flores _ or one of his assistants _ to ask a player to identify a play call or a player on the opposing team.
Defensive back Eric Rowe said Patriots coach Bill Belichick does the same thing, so it's not surprising Flores took that with him from New England to Miami. And if players don't answer correctly?
Flores "will be like, 'How do you not know this?!'" Rowe said, adding Belichick would respond similarly.
The point of quizzing players?
"So you know your opponent by Wednesday," Rowe said. "It holds people accountable. In my case, he'll ask who the upcoming opponent's tight ends are or ask the defensive lineman who's the left guard and is he a pulling guard or point of attack guard."
Safety Steven Parker said Flores' quizzing "keeps guys on their toes. They say it's not to pick on anybody, but to make sure we know the opponent and what they will run and what personnel they will open in."
And it's not only Flores who does it. Linebacker Sam Eguavoen said special teams coach Danny Crossman will ask a wide range of questions, including personal information about an opposing player, such as what college he attended.
_ Scheduling more meetings than predecessor Adam Gase and his staff did.
"We do meet more, just to get everybody on the same page," offensive tackle Jesse Davis said. "We have a lot of stuff going on, a lot of different ideas being thrown out every day. A new play in, a new play out.
"We have a lot of meetings and interaction from player to coach, player to player on how to get our job done. Our coaching staff does a good job getting us in the right direction."
_ Cultivating relationships with players in ways that aren't necessarily the norm in the NFL.
It's widely known that Flores cut short his July vacation after Kendrick Norton lost an arm in an automobile accident.
But Flores also has taken steps to establish a personal rapport with every player. In March and April, he took each position unit out for a meal.
"He took every group out to lunch and we went around telling our story," Davis said. "That was a good thing, so he could understand who his players are. O-line would be up one week, then QBs, receivers. Players we were like, 'That's pretty cool, you're not just X on the board, you're a guy he actually wants to get to know and understand how to coach.'"
Then, after Miami added 14 players in the first two weeks of the season, he took all of the new players out to dinner at J. Alexander's in Plantation.
"We were able to interact with one another, went around, introduced ourselves, where we're from, our background, got to talk with coach Flo," said linebacker Vince Biegel, one of those players at that dinner. "It wasn't anything formal, but a nice gesture to get outside these walls and get to know somebody on a personal level, more on a man to man basis. It was awesome."
Flores appears to have achieved that ideal balance of having players like him but respect him to the point that they don't want to get on his bad side. As Davis explained, Flores made clear that players will be coached hard but not to take it personally.
Davis says it's meaningful that "he walks through the hall and he says 'hi' and calls you by your name. He's not a coach that just walks by" or doesn't want to be disturbed.
Flores, incidentally, also has a regular Tuesday night dinner with his assistant coaches and their families.
"It gives a chance to see people as more than coaches," defensive line coach Marion Hobby said. "We're seeing some of the guys with their kids, seeing how they interact with their families and stuff like that."
