The Minnesota Vikings could be close to breathing a sigh of relief as they could have defensive coordinator Brian Flores back for the 2026 NFL season. One of the jobs Flores interviewed for was the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach position.
However, on Jan. 24, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that the Steelers plan to hire former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as their head coach. Moreover, Kevin Seifert of ESPN, who covers the Vikings, followed up by noting that this news is good for Minnesota.
“And with that, there are no known potential HC destinations for Brian Flores,” Seifert wrote on Jan. 24 on X. “Unless he becomes a late candidate somewhere else, he will be the Vikings’ defensive coordinator in 2026.”
On Jan. 20, the Vikings announced that Flores had signed a contract extension with the team to remain the defensive coordinator.
“Brian has a unique ability to connect with players, understand their skill sets, and put them in positions to maximize their impact on the field,” said Head Coach Kevin O’Connell in the statement.
“The identity of our defense is a reflection of his leadership and preparation. On a personal level, I’ve really valued the relationship we’ve built over the last three years, and that shared trust, alignment and high standard will continue to be critical to our success.”
Vikings Know that Brian Flores Wants to Be a Head Coach
While Flores appears to be back as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, barring anything unforeseen, O’Connell knows Flores wants to become a head coach again in the league.
“I would say this: I do know that he’s demonstrated a lot of things that, having gone through the process of the head coach hiring process before myself, I imagine he’s going to be a pretty popular guy there as well,” O’Connell said while talking to reporters on Dec. 28.
“And rightly so, he’s earned everything. And that doesn’t take away from the route we want to go to make sure our defense coordinator here for the foreseeable future.”
Brian Flores to Help Vikings Defense Remain a Top Unit
The Vikings are more than happy that their defensive coordinator will be back, as the defense was a major reason the team ended the 2025 season on a five-game win streak. Across Flores’ first three seasons running Minnesota’s defense from 2023 through 2025, the Vikings have consistently been one of the NFL’s toughest units.
Opponents are scoring just 19.2 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the league, while managing only 317.1 yards per game and 5.1 yards per play. The run defense has been especially strong. Teams are averaging 105.4 rushing yards per game against Minnesota, ranking fifth, and just 3.9 yards per carry since 2023, the best figure in the NFL.
Turnovers have also been a calling card. The Vikings have forced 52 fumbles, second-most league-wide, and recorded 73 takeaways overall, including 61 fumble recoveries and 43 interceptions.
Big plays have been hard to come by as well. Over the past three seasons, Minnesota has allowed only 147 plays of 20 yards or more, the fewest in the league since Flores took over the defense.
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