Brian Flores Moves One Step Closer to HC Job
The NFL coaching carousel is getting down to the nitty-gritty, and if Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores plays his cards right, he might be the new boss of the Pittsburgh Steelers, securing a second interview from the team that recently cut ties with Mike Tomlin.
Flores earned a second Steelers interview, meaning the Vikings might be forced to find a replacement coordinator after all.
Flores also has his name in the hat for the Baltimore Ravens, but the Steelers seem like Flores’s one big chance at a promotion this cycle.
Brian Flores Lands a Second Steelers Interview
Flores’s fate rests with the Steelers’ hiring process.
Second PIT Interview Incoming for Flores
It’s on to the second round for Flores.
NBC Sports’ Josh Alper wrote Monday, “The Steelers are starting to set up a second round of interviews for their head coaching job. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that they will have an in-person interview with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He spent the 2022 season as a defensive assistant on Mike Tomlin’s staff. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is also expected to have an in-person interview with the team.”
“There was also word this weekend that the Steelers are going to meet with former Cowboys and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. They have also met with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak.”
Pittsburgh is six days removed from Tomlin’s resignation, evidently hellbent on a swift replacement.
Familiarity with the Organization
After the Dolphins controversially fired Flores in 2022 — Miami reportedly asked him to tank games, and he refused — one team gave him a chance. That was Tomlin’s Steelers.
Flores coached the Steelers’ linebackers for a season, which turned out to be the springboard that propelled him to his current job as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator.
In that regard, Flores in Pittsburgh is a natural fit. He knows the Steelers, and more importantly, their brass knows him. Flores is not a little engine that could during this interview process.
Set for Life if He Lands the Job
Pittsburgh hires coaches — and keeps them. It’s just the way that franchise does business, and snatching the Steelers’ head coaching job is the arguably most stable … thing … in all of sports.
For Flores, if the second interview goes smoothly, he’ll earn the job and likely stay there for 15+ years. Tomlin stuck around for 19 years. Bill Cowher was there for 15 seasons. The Steelers have not built a Dynasty in 50 years, but they hire coaches for the long haul.
And this would feel like justice for Flores, who is suing the NFL for unfair hiring practices, a case that has remained in the legal system for almost 3 years. Flores is 44. He could be hired in Pittsburgh and stay there until he’s 64.
Chris Shula the Frontrunner?
That does not mean Flores is the frontrunner, however.
The betting market favors Chris Shula, who runs the Los Angeles Rams’ defense. Shula is actually the overwhelming favorite, with Flores in second, and former Green Bay Packers + Dallas Cowboys skipper Mike McCarthy in third place.
Still Curtain‘s Shayne Kubas noted on Shula this week, “Shula checked all the right boxes even before his impressive coaching job on Sunday. He is a young (39), defensive-minded coach coming from an established coaching tree, having been with Sean McVay in LA since the beginning of McVay’s career there back in 2017. He has risen through the ranks all the way to being the DC the past two seasons, where he has taken a flawed defensive roster and coached them into a solid unit.”
“Forcing turnovers has been what Shula’s defenses have been best at in his two seasons as DC, forcing 46 combined over that time. The Steelers’ defense has put a premium on forcing turnovers as well, making him a seamless fit. Some fans may want to focus on playing lockdown defense, opposed to just gunning for turnovers, but they don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”
So, while the smoke for Flores to Pittsburgh is real, oddmakers believe Shula, not Flores, probably has a fast track to take over. If that happens, and Flores does not land the Ravens’ vacant head coaching job, he would presumably return to Minnesota for a fourth season.
It’s worth noting that if Shula is “the guy,” the process will linger until the Rams’ season concludes. Los Angeles will play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship this weekend.
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