The Minnesota Vikings enter the postseason as a 14-win Wildcard team, taking on the Los Angeles Rams in Glendale, Arizona, on Monday Night Football.
Why Brian Flores Might Stay with Vikings
The club also has a prominent leader in the NFL’s head coaching carousel, defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
So far, the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, and Jacksonville Jaguars have requested permission to speak with Flores. His options are much more plentiful than last year’s coaching carousel when he received no attention whatsoever.
Still, mounting evidence suggests Flores will return to Minnesota in 2025. Here’s why.
His Preferred Team … Is off the Table
Flores made it clear last Tuesday that the vacant Patriots head coaching gig intrigued him.
“I would say yes,” Flores told the media when asked if he’d take an interview for New England’s top gig. The Patriots somewhat unexpectedly fired first-year skipper Jerod Mayo on Monday, a former coworker of Flores’.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweeted about the exchange, “Brian Flores is gracefully taking a lot of questions about his head coach prospects. He said he will take every interview that is requested. Asked if he is interested in the Patriots job, he said: ‘I would say yes.’ But he added ‘it’s not up to me’ if they want to talk.”
Well, that job is off the list. Kiss it goodbye. The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel over the weekend. Flores’ preferred destination is kaput. He didn’t even get an interview.
“The Right Opportunity” Remark
A couple of months ago, 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 in November.
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.
Would the “right opportunity” really be the Bears, Jets, or Jaguars? The Bears and Jets are widely known for at least some degree of dysfunction. And Jaguars general manager, Trent Baalke, has a bit of a rocky reputation.
If Flores takes the plunge with the Bears, Jets, or Jaguars, he’d basically walk back — without saying it — the right opportunity remark.
It’s also worth wondering if Chicago would pair Flores with Caleb Williams after Tua Tagovailoa’s controversial remarks about Flores last year. He claimed Flores wasn’t kind to him, and Williams may need the utmost hand-holding to succeed. Could Williams thrive with a tough-as-nails skipper like Flores?
Who’s Left?
That leaves these teams:
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New Orleans Saints
- Dallas Cowboys (per Adam Schefter)
- Any playoff team that might fire its coach
The Raiders don’t really fit into Flores’ right opportunity criteria. The Saints are venturing into salary cap hell. Neither team has requested a Flores interview. We shall see on Dallas.
The coaching carousel isn’t complete, but the docket doesn’t ideally suit Flores as a head coach in 2025.
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.