Smoking-gun document produced by Korn Ferry could shake up Brian Flores case

Civil lawsuits that require the plaintiff to crack the code on a corporate shell game often come down to finding a needle in the haystack of documents dumped during the discovery process. The lawyers representing Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores in his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams apparently believe they've found one. Korn Ferry, a search firm that has assisted multiple NFL franchises in head-coaching searches over the years, has produced documents to Flores's lawyers that include a potential smoking-gun document that could shake up the entire case. As one source with knowledge of the document described the document, "It is insane." But the document is currently subject to a broad protective order, which allows the parties to flag certain documents as confidential and, in turn, to keep them out of the public eye. The designation of this specific document as confidential currently is in dispute. The document was nevertheless strong enough to get Flores's lawyer to prepare another amendment to his initial civil complaint, first filed in February 2022. The existence of the motion to amend, and the Korn Ferry document, was first reported by Daniel Kaplan. Per Kaplan, the document in question relates to an item generated by Korn Ferry in connection with a search conducted by the Raiders. (The precise Raiders coaching search isn't specified; the Raiders have hired new coaches in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2022, and 2018.) Flores has sued the NFL, the Dolphins, the Broncos, the Giants, and the Texans. Co-plaintiff Steve Wilks has a wrongful termination case against the Cardinals. Co-plaintiff Ray Horton has a failure to hire claim against the Titans. Whatever the Korn Ferry document reveals, the fact that Flores's lawyers have it speaks to one of the fundamental differences between litigation and arbitration. If the NFL had gotten its wish to refer the Flores case to the secret, rigged, kangaroo court of arbitration, it would have been difficult if not impossible to secure relevant documents from Korn Ferry, a non-party to the case that the NFL can't require to produce evidence. With the case now proceeding in court, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow for people and companies not connected to the case to be easily targeted to provide information in their possession, custody, or control. The contents of the Korn Ferry document could grease the skids for a settlement — if Flores is willing to settle the case and to not see it through to conclusion. At this point, a public trial and a jaw-dropping verdict in a race discrimination case may be the only thing that forces the NFL and its teams to address in a meaningful way a problem that has hidden in plain sight for decades.