Everyone Seems to Love the Vikings New Addition
The Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, passing the torch from Ed Donatell in 2022 to the former Miami Dolphins head coach in 2023.
Flores spent 11 seasons in the Bill Belichick system with the Patriots before jumping to the big job in Miami, where he stayed for three seasons and totally revamped the Dolphins defense.
Everyone Seems to Love the Vikings New Addition
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The Vikings also interviewed Sean Desai (Seattle Seahawks), Ryan Nielsen (New Orleans Saints), and Mike Pettine (Vikings) as possible Donatell replacements. But Desai withdrew his name from the hopper last week, chasing the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator job, and Nielsen chose the Atlanta Falcons for a DC gig. Then, 2022 Broncos DC Ejiro Evero — who seemed like the Vikings frontrunner for about 48 hours — chose the Panthers for defensive coordinator responsibilities.
Flores outlasted them all to become the Vikings defensive bossman, a job with a tall order as Minnesota ranked 30th in points allowed last year and 31st in yards allowed.
Reaction to the Vikings hire? Well, that was unabashedly positive. Here’s a real test — spend the rest of the week trying to find someone — anyone — melancholy about the Flores addition. Aside from folks perhaps in Arizona or Pittsburgh, they don’t exist.
ESPN’s Field Yates said about the Vikings move, “An absolutely massive hire for the Vikings. Huge boost for the defense.”
“The Vikings went from Donatell to Brian Flores. That’s like getting rid of a stale cereal bar and upgrading to a Krispy Kreme donut,” YouTuber Jake Ellenbogen tweeted.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano had thoughts, “A big-time hire for the Vikings and an indication that Arizona (where Flores was a candidate for head coach) is continuing to narrow its head coach search.”
“The Vikings moved quickly from Ejiro Evero to Brian Flores, and this is a really strong hire. Flores was just starting out as a New England assistant when O’Connell was a Patriots rookie in 2008,” said SI.com’s Albert Breer.
Fox Sports’ Carmen Vitali opined, “The Brian Flores hire is huge for the Vikings. Would have thought he had a shot at being a head coach again but now Minnesota gets to reap the benefits of an aggressive scheme that has proven results.”
“Flo will be an immediate upgrade for the Vikings. He brings toughness and accountability. He’s also known Kevin O’Connell since the time when KOC was in New England. Great hire by the Vikings,” NFL Network’s Peter Schrager weighed in.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler continued the positivity train, “Though Ejiro Evero was a prime candidate for Minnesota before he took Carolina DC job, Brian Flores very much impressed in the interview process and the Vikings appeared to work quickly to hire him. Should be big lift for Vikings D.”
Myron Medcalf had real estate advice or a warning, “Love the Brian Flores hire. Smart move. But somebody should tell him that the house in Maple Grove some realtor will inevitably try to sell to him is not 15 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from the Vikings facility.”
“Vikings lucky to get Brian Flores as DC. Vikings D a disaster last 3 yrs, but can be a SB contender if Flores turns it around. Credit to Kevin O’Connell as a common mistake of young coaches is they’re too insecure to get ex-head coaches w/strong personalities as coordinators,” tweeted Chuck Modi.
NFL scout Jim Nagy commended the Flores hire, “Brian Flores got up-close look at top prospects in this year’s draft last week in Mobile. Vikings defense instantly got better today.”
Six-time Pro Bowler Cameron Heyward kept it simple, “Congrats B FLO!!!!”
Longtime president of the Philadelphia Eagles, Joe Banner, was enthused, “The Vikings got massively better today. Will get lost in the off seasons activities, but this is a big move.”
“Good hire by the Vikings. Flores will produce immediate results,” U.S. congressman Pat Garofalo insisted.
And the Star Tribune’s Jim Souhan rounded out the reaction, “Brian Flores was the right choice all along to be Vikings defensive coordinator.”
The Vikings will use the next three months to revamp the team’s defensive personnel as Flores and Donatell implement vastly different schemes. Donatell’s system infamously endorsed a “bend but don’t break” philosophy, whereas Flores’ mentality is more aggressive than a mamba.
Flores has a birthday in 17 days and will turn 42.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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