Brian Flores Can Present Kevin O’Connell Some Revenge

Ted Schwerzler |

Sep 3, 2024

Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on July 25th, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to take over for Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.

The Minnesota Vikings didn’t play the New York Giants last year, so the last time Kevin O’Connell faced Daniel Jones was the 2022 Wild Card game. Ed Donatell’s defense flopped in terrible fashion, and Brian Flores could help to provide his colleague with some revenge.

Brian Flores Can Present Kevin O’Connell Some Revenge

It was essentially the two games in 2022 against the Minnesota Vikings that got Daniel Jones paid. With the time the New York Giants have considered different quarterbacks, they clearly don’t love that decision. Jones threw for over 300 yards and added 78 more on the ground during his last meeting with the Vikings. Flores will look to make sure that doesn’t happen.

gabriel murphy — Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores chatting with Tatum Everett on February 15th, 2023. The Vikings hired Flores from the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was a linebackers coach for one season.

Of course, the Vikings are a much different team than in 2022. This team isn’t expected to win 13 games in their wildest dreams, and Kirk Cousins isn’t under center anymore, either. O’Connell will need Sam Darnold to perform as he believes the veteran is positioned to, and the offense will need to put up points.

On offense, Justin Jefferson will be seeking a better showing as well. He posted just 47 yards against the Giants, and without T.J. Hockenson going off for 129, it would have been a tough performance through the air for Minnesota. Plenty of turnover has taken place for the skill position players, but you can bet he’ll want to come out strong.

It really is a matchup of Flores against Jones, though. If the Vikings coordinator can put his unit in positions to succeed, the Vikings should emerge victorious. Jones is prone to mistakes and there’s no reason why Flores can’t coax him into a few of them. The cornerback group faces a wide receiver position that brings a rookie as their best option. Keeping the offense in check should not be considered a herculean ask.

There’s no denying that O’Connell would love to avenge that previous defeat, and his much better current defensive coordinator may be the greatest catalyst to achieving that.

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Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.