The Minnesota Vikings might be losing their defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, this offseason. Flores’ contract with Minnesota is expiring, and while the Vikings will do everything in their power to keep him, he could land a head coaching job.
Moreover, ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak expects him to be a head coach next season. Solak stated that taking the Las Vegas Raiders job would make sense for Flores, who is looking for a second go-around as a head coach.
“I think of what Mike MacDonald has been for the Seahawks in the NFC West division with Kyle Shanahan and with Sean McVay, where it’s okay, if we’re going to have really good offensive designers here, let’s get a really good defensive mind who will give us a punching chance against these teams who aren’t used to being stopped, who aren’t used to playing these slow, griny, and gritty games,” Solak said on the Jan. 5 edition of “Up & Adams.”
“I want to call Flores a culture guy because of [his] Patriots background. He was in Miami, and there are obviously culture problems there. But he’s also talked a lot about the fact that he feels like he did a really not great job in Miami with some of the culture stuff, and he’d like to do it differently on the second go.
“So I still very much lean Flores [for the Raiders job]. I think Flores, if you were to wipe away the fact that he’s suing the NFL and everything that’s gone down the last few years, he’d be clear in a way for the 101 best coaching candidate available among the coordinator ranks.”
Raiders Reportedly Want Brian Flores
On Jan. 4, a report from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio revealed that Minority owner Tom Brady is likely to have a significant say in the search, and 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 in an article published on Jan. 4.
“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.”
Vikings Want to Keep Brian Flores
On Dec. 28, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke with reporters and shared his thoughts on Flores’ future.
“We have [had contract extension talks]; it goes back a long way before those reports,” O’Connell told reporters. “We’ve had recent [and] very good dialogue. Flo knows I love him. He was the guy three years ago that I identified to bring in here, and the growth, and just our relationship, and what he’s meant to me personally is so massive.
“That’s not even taken into account what he’s been able to do defensively for our team and been such a huge part of helping us daily, minute to minute, weather the different storms we had to navigate this year. Things are in a really positive place right now. I absolutely want Brian Flores to be the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings as long as we can have him.”
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