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.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores wants to be a head coach again.
He told ESPN’s Schefter this week he would love to head coach again, given “the right opportunity.” He wants to be selective.
“Now, I may get some resistance from my kids, who are having a great time here in Minnesota. They’re having a fantastic time here just with school, and basketball, and football, and friendships and things like that. I think I’d get a little resistance, but for me personally, it’s something that I’d love to do again. With that said, Minnesota has been a great spot for me. My family, we’re really enjoying it,” Flores said this week.
His requirement for the right opportunity might narrow the list, so consider these the four likeliest landing spots for Flores if he takes a head coach job in 2025. They’re ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = top Flores fit).
This Flores landing spot could be derailed for a rather elementary reason — Zac Taylor may not be fired.
The Bengals are 4-6 inside a weirdly weak AFC and could get hot enough to seize the sixth or seventh Wildcard seed in early January. But what if they don’t?
Taylor may be on the chopping block if so, and the pendulum could swing to a defense-first head coach amid a search, mainly because the offense is on lock with Joe Burrow in town. Flores to Cincy would check some boxes and emphatically fix its defensive woes.
Avert your eyes.
Flores is from Brooklyn and has the tough guy image that the Bears like to exalt. It might be a little strange to employ back-to-back defensive coaches if Matt Eberflus gets canned, but Flores could be the best option on the market not named Bill Belichick.
Think of it this way — Flores just seems like the kind of guy Chicago would lift up as its skipper.
Mike McCarthy will be terminated in about seven weeks, and if Dallas doesn’t hire Bill Belichick — see: the Bill Parcells precedent in Dallas 20 years ago — the Cowboys fit the “right opportunity” criteria provided by Flores to Schefter.
The Cowboys have the franchise quarterback, franchise wide receiver, and franchise defender. Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons.
Like the Bengals, the Browns could swing the pendulum to a defensive thinker if they fire Kevin Stefanski at season’s end.
Stefanski has won Coach of the Year twice since taking the Browns’ top job, but he’s near the top of most “hot seat” speculation lists through 10 weeks.
In this example, Cleveland would pluck back-to-back Vikings coaches.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.