NFL mailbag: Bryce Young Trade, Brian Flores Personality, Kooch Hall Of Fame Chances, And A Gotcha Question
Outkick Senior NFL Writer Armando Salguero answers your questions about anything, including football, weekly here. Email questions, comments, criticisms, kudos to Armando.Salguero@OutKick.com or ask him on X: @ArmandoSalguero
This week's All That And A Bag Of NFL Mail looks at the personality of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and how that will factor in his future head coach job search. The mailbag addresses (get the pun?) the chances of Bob Kuechenberg getting into the Hall of Fame, and whether I'm ready to cave on my Buffalo Bills preseason prediction.
But we start with Bryce Young.
Young is intriguing because it's no longer just about what he can do on the field in Carolina. There's more at play now.
So let's get to the mailbag:
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Bryce Young #9 of the Carolina Panthers reacts during the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Bank of America Stadium on September 15, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Carolina's End Game With Bryce Young
Q. The Panthers are going after [the] 1st pick. Why not get a second-round pick [for Young] to make up for the trade to Bears?
– William Moore.
A. There is no team at this stage willing to offer a second-round pick for Bryce Young, who is a smallish quarterback who has struggled at the start of his career and been benched.
If any of the handful of teams that have contacted the Panthers about Young would have made a binding offer for a second-round pick, Young would be gone. The Panthers aren't going to simply let Young go for a third-day-of-the-draft pick at this stage.
What you're seeing now is the Panthers intentionally rehabilitating Young as a viable good quarterback in the media. They're saying through sources they have no interest in making a trade, thus making him seem more valuable to them. They're saying Young will get his chance to start for them again, suggesting he's still going to be good.
It's hard to buy much of it and some teams I talk to don't.
I remind you coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan did not draft Young. They inherited him. That means they can be dispassionate and calculating about Young without having to answer for a draft mistake they didn't make.
I believe if/when Young gets another shot to start this year – most likely after the trade deadline if he's still on the team – it'll be as a way of finalizing his worth to the Panthers going into the offseason.
If he plays great (hard to imagine), he has a good chance to stay. He plays below that mark, he'll be gone before the start of the 2025 season.
Brian Flores Personality Will Be An Issue
Q. Mando,
I saw your video about Jacksonville being run over by a buffalo. That man looks to be in trouble. What are all those sirens in the back, were they coming to help him?
I got a question for you. How did you feel about Brian Flores? I am asking you because you covered the team when he was there. What is your opinion?
– Robert Ilardi
A. Here's the truth Rob, that is a steer and not a buffalo in the video. But I used it because I'm a funny guy and wanted to illustrate the Bills running over the Jaguars. Yeah, doesn't sound quite as funny when I write about it, but I did what I did.
As to Flores: My opinion is he was and remains an outstanding defensive coach. But he wasn't an outstanding people person when he was the Dolphins head coach. He tried and often succeeded in getting people fired. I'm talking players, assistant coaches, staffers.
When he wasn't able to get people fired, he would banish them from the team facility and force them to work from the stadium.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins looks on against the Houston Texans at Hard Rock Stadium on November 07, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Flores Couldn't Keep A Staff
Flores hired Chad O'Shea to be his offensive coordinator in 2019 after working with him for 10 seasons in New England. And then he fired O'Shea after one year in Miami.
The 2019 Dolphins offense wasn't bad considering the talent it had, and actually improved late in the season. But Flo fired the coordinator he was convinced he should leave his stable spot in New England and move his family to come to Miami after only one year.
Other coaches, including coordinators, quit on Flores after only one year because they didn't like his management style.
My sense is Flores will get another shot at being a head coach. He's on that track this season. One hopes he now understands his people skills – particularly as they relate to offensive players, assistants and staffers – need serious upgrade.
It will definitely come up in future head coach interviews.
Football: AFC Playoffs: Miami Dolphins Bob Kuechenberg (67) on the sidelines during game vs San Diego Chargers at Orange Bowl Stadium. Miami, FL 1/16/1983 CREDIT: Heinz Kluetmeier (Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X27921 TK1 R2 F30 )
Bob Kuechenberg's HOF Chances
Q. Good afternoon Armando. Does Bob Kuchenberg ever get a mention in the Hall of Fame discussions anymore? I ask because I am a fan and I constantly hear on various media sources from veteran Dolphin players how he was the best and toughest of the stellar O lines in the past.
Thank you for your reporting and it is a pleasure reading your work.
Sincerely,
Olin
A. Olin, thanks for remembering a player that the Hall of Fame senior committee has apparently forgotten.
Kooch, as his teammates and Don Shula would call him, was an eight-time finalist to make the Hall of Fame a couple of decades ago. Deservedly so, in my opinion. He was an anchor on great (not good, great) Miami offensive lines, including in three Super Bowls.
Kooch dominated Hall of Famer Alan Page in Super Bowl VIII and Larry Csonka, the MVP of that game, famously credited Kooch for him winning the award.
"He's the reason I performed so well," Csonka said.
And yet he never made it into the Hall in his 25 years of eligibility and the veterans committee at the Hall of Fame has not brought his name to the full body of selectors for debate since. Terrible oversight.
Q.
Ready To Retract Bills Prediction?
A. So, a gotcha question. But, I suppose a fair gotcha question.
I picked the Bills to finish third in the AFC East with a 9-8 record. They are currently first in the AFC East with a 3-0 record. I'm looking pretty dumb right now.
But my calander tells me it's still September. And the season doesn't end until January. So maybe the Bills continue to roll. And maybe they don't. Maybe the Jets improve, maybe they don't. Maybe the Dolphins continue to fade, maybe they don't.
The Patriots are not good and should get to Drake Maye already.
Anyway, I think I'll stand on my prediction. Lotta season left.