Getty Defensive coordinator Brian Flores of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith took a pay cut to play for defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and the experience has been literally eye-opening.
One of the best players at his position for years, Smith admitted to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert that he and the rest of the Vikings unit had been viewing the concept of defense inside of an imagined structure with rigid boundaries. Flores’ arrival and the novel NFL scheme he implemented — a six-man front with various zone coverages incorporated behind it — has changed the players’ notions of what’s possible on the defensive side of the football.
“You’re programmed to think that there’s these buckets of defenses. Everybody has their own styles, but it’s like you’re only allowed to do certain things with 11 guys, and [Flores’ scheme] kind of breaks that in some senses,” Smith told Seifert. “The rules of the game are just ingrained in you, even though they’re not rules. It’s just what we’ve all been brainwashed into thinking over the years. It turns out you can do more, and that’s been really fun to see.”
Vikings Players Gleaning Confidence from Flores’ Scheme
Courtesy of VikingsMinnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
It isn’t just tangible success on the field that Flores has brought to the table in Minnesota, he has also instilled a sense of confidence in his players that they have a schematic advantage over their opponents.
Seifert cited a story told to him by safety Josh Metellus as an example. Metellus said that a coach with the Atlanta Falcons was haranguing him over and again during the teams’ matchup in Georgia on November 5, gloating that he had solved the Vikings’ defense and knew what was coming next.
“He was completely wrong every time,” Metellus told Seifert. “Nobody understands what we’re doing.”
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took an in-depth look at the NFC Wildcard race on Thursday. It took just three paragraphs for the analyst to heap praise on Flores for Minnesota’s defensive turnaround.
“The 2022 team was impressive on offense, but its defense was a sieve. What coordinator Brian Flores has done to turn it around has been remarkable,” Barnwell wrote. “The Vikings got off to a slow start, but from Week 4 on, they’ve ranked as the league’s fourth-best defense by expected points added (EPA), just ahead of the solid [New York] Jets and [San Francisco] 49ers units. Flores’ pass defense has ranked second in QBR allowed, and while he has blitzed at the highest rate, the Vikings have been the second-best pass defense when they rush four or fewer, too.”
Brian Flores Expected Candidate for NFL Head Coaching Jobs Next Season
GettyMinnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, Flores may not be long for Minneapolis.
Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post wrote on November 25 that despite an ongoing lawsuit filed by Flores against the NFL, the defensive coordinator should soon get another chance at a top job somewhere in the league.
“[The suit] shouldn’t prevent the former [Miami] Dolphins coach from getting another shot. He has done stellar work with the Vikings as they have adapted to his heavy blitzing preferences,” La Canfora wrote. “Flores surely learned from some of his missteps with the Dolphins, and if the Vikings make the playoffs, his work will be impossible to ignore.”
La Canfora also cited an unnamed agent who does not serve as Flores’ representative who said the revolving door of NFL head coaches should open up to Flores once again.
“Let’s say there are seven or eight [available] jobs,” the agent said. “You’re telling me there are seven or eight coaches with a better résumé than his? He’s doing a great job [in Minnesota].”
The Vikings are currently 6-6 and in the midst of a late-season bye week. The team will return to the field on December 10 to take on the Las Vegas Raiders.