Brian Flores' lawyer says a note to the Raiders before their head coaching search portrays the client as an "angry Black man."

A newly unsealed Korn Ferry note reveals harsh criticism of Brian Flores, which his lawyers say proves NFL retaliation over his discrimination complaint.

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Attorneys for Bryan Flores say a recruiting memo used by the Las Vegas Raiders while the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator is considering the head coaching job is evidence that teams are retaliating against him for filing a racial discrimination lawsuit and that discriminatory hiring practices continue to exist throughout the NFL.

The document, which the NFL and Korn Frey's search firm had hoped would remain sealed, was released Tuesday after the judge overseeing discovery in Flores' lawsuit previously rejected Korn Frey's arguments to keep the document confidential.

The Korn Ferry document, as first reported by Front Office Sports, offers two columns titled "Brian Flores - Strengths and Weaknesses."

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Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 4, 2026.

Among Flores' weaknesses, according to Korn Ferry:

He can trick you with his uppercut. He has few people skills, lacks self-awareness, and can sometimes exhibit erratic behavior. Toa [Taguailoa]'s comments have opened up the narrative that Brian was "cynical and hostile" and that his style "knocked out his confidence."

"A chip on his shoulder -- he can be a dictator with players, coaches, and he can even be difficult with ownership. His personality is unpredictable -- not sure who's going to show up. He failed in the way he hired coordinators and staff because he doesn't give second chances or try to improve."

"It takes a strong man at the top to reign in some of his worst behavior. He once threatened his GM with violence and made unreasonable demands at an ownership meeting. "He may have changed since then, but he was the worst hiring decision we've ever made," said one senior executive at the old team. Another club president declined to speak about him."

Flores' lawyer, Michael Wilmin, told FOS that some of the descriptions conjured up the image of an "angry black man".

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Even one of the six positives Korn-Frey attributes to Flores could be suspect in a discrimination suit because it portrays Flores as someone who learned to speak up and present himself positively because he met wealthy white people despite growing up in a tough, predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhood.

"Despite growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn (a.k.a. Mike Tyson) is a stylish and well-rounded performer. He was able to develop a strong friendship with the son of a billionaire, which gave him opportunities to socialize and learn how to build relationships with white-collar, upper-class people.

Law firms Flores, Wigdor LLP and Elefterakis, Elefterakis & Panek issued a statement on Tuesday regarding the Korn Ferry memo:

The recently unsealed documents reveal two unfortunate but unsurprising facts, the statement said. "First, that Mr. Flores' decision to hold the league and its teams responsible for systemic racial discrimination has been met with unlawful retaliation.

Second, discrimination continues to play an important role in the hiring process for NFL head coaches, as evidenced by the fact that the candidate profile prepared for the Raiders relies heavily on racial stereotypes. "We and Mr. Flores are committed to rooting out the institutional racism and retaliation that has permeated the league, its teams and its partners."

Las Vegas Raiders coach Clint Kubiak speaks during an introductory press conference at the Biennale Health Performance Center on February 10, 2026 in Henderson, Nevada. (Kirby Lee/Images)

The memo in question was drafted by Korn Frey for the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the team's most recent coaching search, which ultimately resulted in the hiring of Clint Kubiak.

Flores was not interviewed by the attackers.

Flores, who is black, sued the NFL and its 32 teams in February 2022, specifically naming the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants. He claimed the league's hiring practices were "riddled with racism" against black coaches. Black coaches Steve Wilkes and Ray Horton later joined him in the lawsuit.

Flores, who coached the Dolphins from February 2019 to January 2022, claims in his suit that the Dolphins defamed him.

A defamation claim can be used to support a defamation claim if it can be shown that Korn Frey's reference to Flores was the "worst hiring decision we've ever made" by a Dolphins executive.

However, it should be noted that truth can serve as a partial defense in a racial discrimination case.

And while he coached the Dolphins, Flores actually hired and fired several assistants, often from one year to the next, while others left after a short time due to personality conflicts.

Flores also had incidents in which he angrily yelled at employees and managers, which marked him in the Dolphins organization as someone who sometimes belittled people.

Armando Salguero is the senior writer for NFL OutKick.

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