Vikings DC Brian Flores is Generating Jealousy
In fairness, the article emerged prior to the Christmas game against the Lions, meaning the latest performance from Week 17 wasn’t factored into the mix upon considering the Vikings DC.
Regardless, the sentiment could very well remain.
On The Athletic, Ian O’Connor explained that the New York Giants opted for the “wrong Brian.” Put differently, New York would have done better opting for Vikings DC Brian Flores — someone who has proven to be an excellent coach — rather than the now-fired Brian Daboll.
The Vikings DC is Generating Jealousy & Regret
Consider some of the O’Connor argument, someone who knows far more about the Giants than I.
Some background: “Daboll got the job, and Flores, in his mind, got the shaft. He sued the NFL for racial discrimination and cited the Giants, among others, for putting him through what he called a sham interview. The Giants denied the charge and pointed to the fact that co-owner John Mara personally recruited Flores into the process, but in the end, new general manager Joe Schoen decided to hire his buddy in Buffalo, Daboll, rather than the Brian with head coaching experience, Flores.”
Coach Flores then gets plenty of praise for the game plan from Week 16.
Some reflections: “The man was just doing his job, of course, as one of the finest defensive coaches in the league — a coordinator once good enough to run Bill Belichick’s defense in New England and to hold Sean McVay’s high-scoring Rams to a lousy field goal in the Super Bowl.”
Finally, consider how Brian Flores may have helped to push New York forward.
The quote: “Now the Giants are an undisciplined mess, losers of 38 of their last 49 games. At some point, Flores would have imposed his will on this team and held the culprits accountable. He is a tough guy from perhaps the toughest neighborhood in New York, Brownsville, and it’s hard to believe he would’ve let his city’s flagship NFL franchise become a laughingstock on his watch.”
As things stand, the Vikings boast the 11th-ranked defense. Not elite, but the context makes the feat quite impressive.
Minnesota is devoid of any Pro Bowl talent. Individually, all of Blake Cashman, Byron Murphy Jr., Ivan Pace, Jonathan Greenard, and several others have taken a step back. Some guys have emerged — Jalen Redmond, Eric Wilson, Isaiah Rodgers, and Jay Ward come to mind — but Brian Flores hasn’t had top-tier talent.
Worst of all, the Vikings DC has seen an awful offense (and a sometimes shaky special teams) put Minnesota in a bad spot. He has nevertheless found a way to create a defense that’s on the cusp of being very good.
Hard not to think, folks, that Coach Flores is among the NFL’s 32 most impressive coaches. If that’s true (rest assured that it is), then Coach Flores deserves to have a head coaching job.
Best guess at this stage is that Brian Flores remains as the defensive coordinator. Not a locked-in reality, Flores has settled into Minnesota nicely, speaking fondly of his stay. Seeing him remain in the Twin Cities would be a major boost for a team that’s looking to bounce back in 2026.
The season’s final game takes place next week. The Green Bay Packers will visit U.S. Bank Stadium in what should be a challenging NFC North showdown. Outsmarting Matt LaFleur a time or two will help to further corroborate the notion that Brian Flores is among the game’s great tacticians.
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