A Korn Ferry memo prepared for the Las Vegas Raiders and used to assess Brian Flores as a head coaching candidate was unsealed by court order on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Flores’s lawyers say the document, now public as part of his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, leans on racial stereotypes and amounts to evidence of retaliation against him.
The memo lists six points in favor of Flores and seven points against him. Its release adds a new document to a case that Flores filed against the league in February 2022 and that has since expanded to include other former coaches as plaintiffs.
What The Memo Says
On the positive side, the memo describes Flores as “Polished and a good presenter despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.” Among the seven weaknesses listed, the memo states “He can fool you with his polish upwards.”
Other weaknesses cited in the memo include a comment attributed to “one long-time senior team executive” who said, “He may have changed since, but he was the worst hiring decision we’ve ever made.” The same passage states Flores “once threatened violence to his GM and made irrational demands during an ownership meeting” and adds that “another President of a club refused to talk about him.” The memo also lists “Ongoing litigation may be a distraction” among its concerns about Flores.
In his supplemental complaint against the Miami Dolphins, Flores’s lawyers identified the Dolphins as the source of the “worst hiring decision” comment. Flores has separately alleged that the Dolphins defamed him, and that executive’s statement could be the basis of that defamation claim, according to Front Office Sports.
How Flores’s Lawyers Respond
Flores attorney Michael Willemin said the “polish” language reflects “the racially offensive way in which someone might comment upon a Black man being articulate, as though it is surprising for a Black man to be articulate (or, in this case, polished).” Willemin also said certain descriptions in the memo conjure the image of “the angry Black man,” and he pointed to the litigation-distraction comment as further evidence of retaliatory intent against Flores for bringing the lawsuit.
In a statement issued by Wigdor LLP and Elefterakis, Elefterakis & Panek on Tuesday, Flores’s legal team said the unsealed documents “demonstrate two unfortunate, but unsurprising, realities. First, that Mr. Flores’ decision to hold the league and its teams accountable for systemic race discrimination has been met with unlawful retaliation.
Second, discrimination continues to play a significant role in the hiring process for NFL Head Coaches, as evidenced by the fact that the candidate profile prepared for the Raiders leans heavily on racial stereotypes. We and Mr. Flores are committed to eradicating the institutional racism and retaliation that permeates the league, its teams and their partners.”
The Raiders, who received the Korn Ferry assessment, did not interview Flores for their head coaching vacancy, according to NBC Sports. Korn Ferry had argued to keep the memo sealed, saying it was a third party to the suit, that the document was privileged work product and that it did not substantiate Flores’s claims. A magistrate judge rejected those arguments, and Korn Ferry did not appeal the ruling to the district judge.
Case Background
Flores filed his discrimination lawsuit on Feb. 1, 2022, months after the Dolphins fired him as head coach following three seasons in Miami. He later added former head coaches Steve Wilks and Ray Horton as plaintiffs.
The case has largely been tied up in disputes over whether it belongs in court or in arbitration, with three teams still pursuing appeals on that question. Flores has worked as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator since filing the suit.
What’s Next
The next legal marker in the case will come when the judge rules on pending motions to dismiss.
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