Brian Flores will have to wait at least another year to become a head coach
The defensive coordinator wasn't offered any of the three jobs for which he interviewed and appears set to return to the Vikings. That might be bad news for Flores but not for the Vikings.
The Vikings’ success on defense this season created buzz that coordinator Brian Flores could end up with a head coaching job. The Vikings’ 14 wins and Flores creative schemes on defense helped Flores get interviews with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
But with those jobs filled by Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson; Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen; and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, respectively, it appears as if Flores will return to the Vikings for a third season.
The question is did Flores not get a job because he wasn’t the best candidate in any of the three cases — Dallas, Las Vegas, New England and New Orleans did not request permission to speak to Flores — or was it the fact his 2022 class action lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination is still pending and no one is going to hire a head coach who is suing the league?
Flores was open about his desire to get a second head coaching opportunity when asked about the subject this season. This came after he didn’t get a single interview last year, despite taking the Vikings’ defense from abysmal to respectable.
Flores, 43, went 24-25 during a three-year stint as Miami’s coach, posting records of 5-11 in 2019, 10-6 in 2020 and 9-8 in 2021. Flores’ lawsuit alleged that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross pressured him to deliberately lose games and offered $100,000 for each loss to help Miami get a better draft pick.
It didn’t help Flores’ cause this summer when Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called his former coach a “terrible person” during an interview. Flores faced the criticism head on and talked about his growth as a person and coach, but the damage had been done and any team looking for a new excuse not to hire Flores had one.
While this is bad news for Flores, it isn’t for the Vikings. Flores’ return will be welcomed by coach Kevin O’Connell, who now won’t have to look for a replacement.