Details Emerge on Why the Steelers Passed on Brian Flores
The Pittsburgh Steelers hired former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy last week, much to that team’s fan base’s chagrin. And thanks to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there’s new clarity on why Pittsburgh didn’t take the plunge with Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores: the Steelers’ brass want a coach who can cultivate a quarterback.
Pittsburgh’s reasoning leaned toward Mike McCarthy’s quarterback track record, while Flores’ leaguewide baggage appeared to linger.
Flores does not have a history of cultivating quarterbacks, and he was left in the cold accordingly.
Steelers Prioritized Quarterback Development
Flores heads back to Minnesota after missing out on the Pittsburgh’s top job.
Schefter on Flores, Steelers
On The Pat McAfee Show Monday, Schefter explained why Pittsburgh chose McCarthy over Anthony Weaver, another finalist, and Flores.
“The other two finalists were Anthony Weaver and Brian Flores. Rooney talked about the fact that he didn’t want to rebuild. And they’ve got a veteran team. And this is a team that won the division this past year. They won the division. They’re not ready to shut it down and rebuild,” he said.
“And so they felt that Mike McCarthy, who’s got the experience he does and who’s familiar with grooming quarterbacks, could be helpful — either growing Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, or whoever they draft, or potentially, even, helping to lure back Aaron Rodgers.”
McCarthy has a resume cultivating quarterbacks. Flores does not.
Flores Is the Opposite of QB Whisperer
By the summer of 2024, the Flores’s reputational concerns went further public. Tua Tagovailoa, his quarterback in Miami from 2019 to 2021, labeled him a “terrible person” on a podcast. Not long after, Ryan Fitzpatrick said Flores ran the building like a “dictator” at times. Those comments were quite damning.
The fallout has been quietly consistent. Flores has gone three straight offseasons without real head-coaching traction beyond courtesy interviews, aside from the finalist situation in Pittsburgh, which was undone by his alleged inability to develop a quarterback.
Of course, none of this prevents Flores from succeeding in Minnesota. But the league keeps sending the same message, and Schefter’s revelation is new evidence on the quarterback angle.
In an interview last week, unrelated to quarterbacks, former Vikings assistant coach Mike Pettine even told a Cleveland Browns-themed podcast that he and Flores didn’t see eye to eye. Pettine retired, while Flores signed an extension.
Year No. 4 in MIN
Vikings fans were quietly happy that Pittsburgh hired McCarthy. Flores has produced Top 3 defenses per EPA/Play and DVOA in the last two seasons, and there’s no reason to believe the unit would nose-dive in 2026.
Flores rather easily could’ve accepted a head coaching job this cycle: there were more openings than usual. However, because of his reputation and the Schefter clarity, general managers and owners just aren’t in a hurry to hire a guy who had beef with his past quarterbacks and a man who has never developed one on his own.
So, Minnesota will reap the benefits, as Flores will probably create a Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10 defense yet again next season. He could be the Vikings’ version of Steve Spagnuolo in Kansas City. Spagnuolo has served as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator for the last seven seasons, earning little attention in the head coach circuit.
Unenthusiastic Fan Response to Mike McCarthy Hire
Steelers loyalists and NFL fans thought Pittsburgh would think outside the box in hiring a replacement for Mike Tomlin. Instead, they hired an older version of Tomlin, as McCarthy has a reputation for coaching a good team all the way to the postseason, only to have it flop before the Super Bowl.
SteelersNow‘s Alex Korzoa recently questioned the interview process, “There’s the old joke of finding your keys in the last place you look. Once you find them, of course you stop. Maybe the team was simply sold and had no reason to continue searching for pure optics. But this was a quick and narrow search. Three candidates brought in for in-person interviews. That’s it.”
“Flores and Weaver are worthy candidates but they were also effectively mandated to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which requires two in-person meetings with minority candidates. One day after Weaver fulfilled it with Friday’s visit, McCarthy was offered the job. The rest of the NFL had deeper in-person candidate pools. The Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens had at least four each. Unlike McCarthy, there was competition for their selections of Jeff Hafley and Jesse Minter. The Titans and Raiders were keen on seeing Hafley.”
It’s worth noting that McCarthy has won 61% of all games as a head coach.
Kozora added, “The Raiders also were set to make a serious push for Minter and was one reason why the Ravens wrapped up their process in a hurry. The Tennessee Titans brought in six. The New York Giants held seven despite clearly targeting John Harbaugh as the franchise’s top candidate.”
“Though difficult to confirm, the Atlanta Falcons may have been the only other team with three. And they wanted to secure Kevin Stefanski, who was in far greater demand than McCarthy. Even Pittsburgh’s virtual pool of seven (Brian Flores and Mike McCarthy only met in-person, not virtual) was light compared to the rest of the league.”
The good news for Flores? He can try all over again next year in the coaching carousel. He will furnish a good defense, almost assuredly, and some teams will entertain his head coaching candidacy.
Flores will turn 45 next month.
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