Kyle Van Noy obviously was not a great fit with the Miami Dolphins, which is why they released the veteran after just one season of a four-year, $50 million contract he signed a year ago. Part of the issue may have been that Van Noy didn’t see eye-to-eye with his head coach.
Van Noy and Dolphins head coach Brian Flores were familiar with one another from when Flores was the linebackers coach and de-facto defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots prior to landing in Miami. On Wednesday, a reporter asked Van Noy if he noticed any differences between Flores the assistant coach and Flores the head coach. His two-word response seemed quite telling.
Question: What was the difference between Brian Flores the LBs coach and Brian Flores the head coach?
Kyle Van Noy: “No comment.” pic.twitter.com/BVd6rWBMa4
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 24, 2021
Van Noy was asked later in the conference call if it is strange being back with the Patriots after spending a season with a division rival. He gave a long pause then laughed.
“Yeah. I know everything they do down there. And it’s going to be good,” Van Noy said, via Michael Hurley of CBS Boston.
Perhaps Van Noy felt Flores changed after he became a head coach. The Dolphins clearly were not pleased with Van Noy’s play, otherwise they wouldn’t have moved on that quickly. In that sense, it sounds like the divorce was mutual.
Everything worked out for the Patriots in the end, which is evident when you take a closer look at how they got Van Noy back.
