Brian Flores wants hiring teams to know he's come a long way

The Vikings defensive coordinator has requests from two teams for head coaching interviews so far

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — When Brian Flores arrived in Minnesota, the team’s defense was in shambles. They ranked 28th in points allowed and gave up the second most yards in the NFL. Two years later, the Vikings just wrapped up a 14-3 season that was driven in major part by a top-five defense in which they forced the most takeaways and allowed the second fewest rushing yards.

Generally speaking, a performance like that will put a defensive coordinator on the map for head coaching jobs. But in Flores’s case, it’s more complicated than his performance and ability to command a room.

Flores went 19-14 over his final two years with the Miami Dolphins but was fired by the Dolphins in 2021. In a lawsuit that Flores filed against the NFL in 2022, he claimed that Miami owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per game to lose games in 2019 in order to improve the team’s draft status. His lawsuit also alleged discrimination in the interview process with the Denver Broncos and New York Giants, stating that the interviews were only conducted to satisfy the “Rooney Rule” that requires clubs to talk with diverse candidates for open head coaching positions.

Last year Flores played a large role in greatly improving the Vikings defense and drew rave reviews from players but he did not receive any requests to be interviewed for head coaching positions.

This time around, however, Flores has received two head coaching interview requests from the New York Jets and Chicago Bears. On Tuesday, he said that he plans to accept those interviews.

“I plan on taking them all,” Flores said on Tuesday. “I plan on sitting down and having conversations with any team that's interested in talking to me about that position. I look forward to talking to people about my football journey.”

What Flores wants to specifically highlight is the last three years of that journey. In 2022 he spent the season with the Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomin and then worked closely with head coach Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota over the last two seasons.

“When I left Pittsburgh, I was looking to work with someone with an offensive background, so I was fortunate to come here with KO, one of the best in the business, and watch how he schedules, how he works with the quarterback,” Flores said. “I could bounce questions off him and pick his brain from an offensive standpoint from his standpoint from how he sees how views offense.”

Flores is likely to be asked about his handling of the quarterback situation when he was the head coach in Miami. Prior to this season, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” on a podcast when discussing playing under the current Vikings DC. Flores responded back in August by saying that he is always trying to learn and grow as a coach, which appears to be a point of emphasis for him in upcoming head coaching interviews.

“I would say that's part of that growth, kind of seeing different ways to do it,” Flores said. “Tweaking some things… from a leadership standpoint, and then applying it and seeing if it works. And I think I've liked what I've seen so far, as far as applying some of those things and what it's looked like specifically this year.

On his podcast this week, former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who played under Flores for two seasons, talked about the narrative surrounding his leadership style.

“Which version of Brian Flores are we getting?” Fitzpatrick said. “In Year 1, Miami got rid of every good player they had and it was jokingly called the ‘Tank for Tua’ year and halfway through that year when we hadn’t won a game yet, there was a shift in the way he was approaching his job. He was likable, he was relatable, he demanded a lot out of the players but he was able to get the best out of the players… as his tenure went on in Miami, he became unrecognizable.”

Fitzpatrick added that he thought Flores “burned a lot of bridges” and “alienated himself from the entire staff.” The long-time QB used the word “dictator” to describe his style and said he “ruined a lot of relationships” and noted that “his ego grew so big that there wasn’t any room for anyone else.”

However, Fitzpatrick added, “I do think he’s learned a lot. The job that he’s done in Minnesota this year has been unbelievable. He’s such a relatable guy when he’s just himself and I think that’s the most important thing for him and I hope he’s learned the most…be you, you don’t have to imitate Bill Belichick.”

Flores was clear in saying Wednesday that he won’t take a job just to take one. What is he looking for in these interviews?

“Is there a connection?” Flores said. “Is the vibe, is the energy something you're interested in?… Is it something that you think will be an environment that you can forecast and predict that it'll be a winning environment?… I've talked about visions with you guys quite a bit as far as a defensive vision. In that setting, it's kind of an organizational vision, a team vision really across the board. And there's a lot of people involved in that.”

The teams that requested Flores have both been under immense scrutiny for their leadership and culture in recent years. The Bears drafted QB Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall selection but did not stick with their head coach Matt Eberflus through the entire season, firing him midway through the year following game management miscues that cost them multiple games. They have not had a winning record since 2018.

The Jets fired head coach Robert Salah after losing to the Vikings in London in Week 5 and won only three games the rest of the season. There was a report in The Athletic last month that owner Woody Johnson’s kids had a significant influence over the team’s decision making.

One team that would make sense for Flores considering his deep connections with the organization is the New England Patriots. He was hired by the Pats in the early 2000s as a scout and worked his way up to linebackers coach before being hired in Miami. While the Patriots have not yet put in a request to speak with him, Flores did not hide his interest.

“I think that's a place that's got definitely a special place,” Flores said. “When I talk about my football journey, that's where it started. So I would say yes. But at the same time that's not up to me as to whether or not they would want to talk to me or anything like that.”

Flores noted that he isn’t allowed to speak with teams until after this week and that his focus is fully on the Wild Card round of the playoffs against the Rams. He did not feel that he needed to make a statement to the players about his pending interviews.

“I'm happy to talk to any of the guys about it,” Flores said. “I think more than anything, I just feel a lot of support from the guys really throughout the entire building. So yeah, that part of it is pretty easy for me.”

From the Vikings perspective, losing Flores would be a significant hit. Not only has he been at the center of a complete overhaul of the defense, he has overseen the development of a number of young players that are expected to be the next wave including Dallas Turner, Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, Dwight McGlothern, Bo Richter and Theo Jackson.

The roster has many of its foundational players under contract but the defense could lose safety Cam Bynum and cornerbacks Shaq Griffin, Stephon Gilmore and Byron Murphy Jr. to free agency and Harrison Smith to retirement. Replacing Flores and numerous key players could put the defense in a state of flux after two years of stability and improvement.

Whether a head coaching job comes to fruition for Flores will play out over the coming weeks. In the coming days, he will have his hands full with an offense that scored 30 points and produced 386 yards against them back in late October.

“I'll do everything I can to make sure we're all ready to play this game next Monday night,” Flores said.

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