Brian Flores was not just a good choice as the Miami Dolphins’ next head coach.

He’s “a slam-dunk hire,” says a former Patriots scout who has known Flores for his entire NFL career.

These days, Jim Nagy runs the Senior Bowl, an all-star showcase game held here every January.

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But a decade and a half ago, Nagy was an area scout for the Patriots, working alongside Flores in New England’s front office. They won a Super Bowl together in 2004. And while it’s been years since they wore the same logo, Flores still has no better professional reference than Nagy, who gushed about his longtime friend Monday.

“He’s one of my favorite people that I’ve ever worked with or ever been around in my life,” Nagy said. “... I love Brian Flores. He’s going to be a great coach.”

Why?

“He’s got a great way about him. He connects with all different kinds of people. He was in scouting with us when I was in New England. That’s where we made our connection. He understands the personnel side of it. He’s been a grunt on the personnel side. He’s going to be easy to work with for Chris Grier and those guys.”

Nagy continued: “That head coach-GM relationship is so critical. He gets that. There’s no ego with Brian. With where he’s come from in life.”

Flores is the son of Honduran immigrants who used football to escape his rough childhood neighborhood in Brooklyn.

“I told my son the other day when word was breaking that ‘Flo’ was going to get that job – he’s been to our house, he’s been around my family – I said, ‘Look at Mr. Brian, at what you can with your life. He doesn’t come from a whole lot now. And now he’s going to be an NFL head coach. It’s pretty remarkable.’ He’s got a great way with people. He’s a great teacher. The players respect him. I think younger coaches nowadays, there’s that fine line of being a player’s coach and trying to be one of the boys, to be one of the guys. A lot of guys cross that and they lost respect. Brian will never cross that line. I think it’s a slam-dunk hire for Miami.”