It appears Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will be passed over in the NFL’s head coaching carousel in back-to-back-to-back-to-back offseasons.
The Brian Flores Saga Took Another Turn
To date in 2025, Flores has interviewed with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets. And the Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Monday, while the Jaguars advanced to the second of their interview process sans Flores.
And on Tuesday, NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport tweeted, “A monumental day: Top target Aaron Glenn visits the Jets & the goal is to keep him from leaving the building, sources say. The deal isn’t done & there are still some particulars to discuss. But if all goes well, he could end today as HC of the NYJ. If not, the Saints await.”
It’s not final yet, but that sounds like 0 for 3 regarding Flores’ head coaching chances, significantly increasing his odds of returning to Minnesota for Year No. 3 in 2025. Flores turned the Vikings’ defense around rather quickly, and in fact, his group ranked second in the NFL this season per EPA/Play. He’s earned HC attention accordingly. Fans will be excited to have him back if everything holds as-is, though the man absolutely deserves another head coaching gig.
A bit over a week ago, Flores expressed specific interest in the New England Patriots’ head coaching job, but that post went to Mike Vrabel. “I would say yes,” Flores replied to reporters last week when asked if he’d take an interview for New England’s HC gig. The Patriots went with Vrabel and granted Flores no interview.
In November, Flores expressed an explicit desire to return as a head coach somewhere in the league. In short, he wants to be a head coach again. It just has to be the “right opportunity,” Flores told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Flores told Schefter he would love to head coach again. “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.
The right opportunity may not exist in this cycle.
Flores might have two obstacles. First, controversy arose several months ago when Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa trashed Flores in front of a microphone. The two worked together in Miami for two seasons.
Tagovailoa ignited the beef on a radio show in August. “To put it in simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven’t earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for this,'” Tagovailoa told The Dan Le Batard Show, implicating Flores as the culprit. “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other, you see what I’m saying?”
He didn’t stop there.
“Then you hear it, no matter what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to believe that. I don’t care who you are. You could be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things that you don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing, you’re going to start believing that about yourself,” Tagovailoa continued his sharp critique of Flores.
“And so that’s what sort of ended up happening. It was, it’s basically been what two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of guys as well that have been here my rookie year all the way until now.”
What’s more, Flores coached the Dolphins from 2019 to 2021 before a controversial split. Miami allegedly asked Flores to tank games for better draft picks, which he refused. The young coach later sued the NFL for a sham interview process during the 2022 coaching carousel, litigation that is still pending.
His documented relationship with Tagovailoa and the pending litigation could be holding him back.
The Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and New Orleans Saints are also looking for new skippers, although Flores has not interviewed for those positions.
All signs point to his return with the Vikings.
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 Vikings 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.