Pete Carroll is almost certainly going to be fired after the Las Vegas Raiders’ nightmare 2025 season. It was a logical experiment to give the legendary coach a chance to turn the franchise around, but it blew up in the team’s face.
The Raiders will likely go in a younger direction this time around. There aren’t many obvious great head coach candidates this offseason, so Las Vegas could look at a retread. However, not all retreads are created equal.
Minority owner Tom Brady is likely going to have a huge say on the search, and according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, he has his eyes on a couple of former New England Patriots.
“There’s a rumor currently making the rounds that, once Brady rolls up his sleeves (while also wearing one glove and an expensive-ass watch), he’ll make the case for bringing in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores,” Florio wrote.
“As the chatter goes, Flores would be the head coach, and former Giants coach Brian Daboll would be the offensive coordinator. Like Flores, Daboll has extensive experience with the Patriot Way. Daboll was there for the first three Super Bowl wins of the Brady/Belichick era, and for two of the second trio of championships.”
Brady & Flores Have Good Relationship
It’s not a surprise that Brady is starting to get linked to coaches he has experience with. Flores is a very interesting candidate. He was fired from his last head coaching job by the Miami Dolphins, but that was after a 9-8 season.
The Dolphins are notoriously dysfunctional, but he seemed to have them headed in the right direction. The issue with Flores is that he is very difficult. He’s clearly an incredible coach, especially with defense, but he rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
That said, Brady doesn’t have problems with him, per Florio.
“Brady and Flores are believed to have a good relationship. Flores was among those in Miami who wanted to bring Brady to town after his time in Tampa,” Florio wrote.
Could This Pairing Work?
Flores and Daboll have worked together before and should be on the same page with the kind of culture they want to build. Daboll also has a reputation for being a bit gruff, so he should work well with Flores.
The biggest concern has to be the Raiders embracing the Patriot Way again. They tried that with Josh McDaniels, and that was a disaster. Flores has a better track record as a head coach, but it’s possible that the Bill Belichick style of coaching just doesn’t work anymore.
Flores has coached under Kevin O’Connell for the past three seasons, who is a much more upbeat and positive coach. Perhaps that attitude has rubbed off on Flores.
The idea of pairing Flores with another young quarterback is a bit worrisome after his previous issues with Tua Tagovailoa, but if the Raiders find the right quarterback, it shouldn’t be a problem. Daboll did incredible work with a young Josh Allen when he was the offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills, so he’d be a strong fit to develop the Raiders’ next quarterback.
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