Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has an expiring contract. The Vikings are trying to expand it. Even if they do, Flores can interview for a head coaching job and, if offered one, accept it.
A survey of various high-level executives around the league pointed to an obvious conclusion: he will most likely be a candidate, due to the effectiveness of his project. Generally speaking, his peers and various general managers recognize that he is doing a phenomenal job in Minnesota.
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Helping Flores in the upcoming cycle is the fact that, as one source said, there are many names but very few notable ones.
At least one general manager considers Flores to be the best defensive coordinator in the entire league, with a variety of pressures that make it very difficult to prepare for offenses each week. Some believe that this project alone will allow it to be seriously considered.
The other question is about the bigger picture. Team leadership. Owners, as one executive said, will focus on the ability to collaborate as well as emotional intelligence.
How will he manage the entire locker room, especially when adversity inevitably strikes? A head coach will be expected to inspire confidence in tough times, and there will always be one or two (or more) in any given season. The best head coaches instill conviction and vision to attack difficult situations with authenticity and real solutions.
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Interested teams will no doubt dig deeper into his time in Miami, which didn’t go well. How much of this is due to him? How much can be attributed to the chronic dysfunction of the Dolphins organization? And while the Steelers, we’re told, loved Flores during his one-year tenure as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, there are (and have been) rumors around the league about his interpersonal style during three years in Minnesota – some of which can be traced back to eleven seasons spent working for Bill Belichick in New England.
Yet, as one source said, the project is more important than the other elements. This matter can be resolved later, behind closed doors, if necessary.
It is still unclear which teams will have openings. The Titans and Giants are currently doing this. As for New York, the fact that the Giants are one of the named defendants in its arbitration/litigation against the NFL and four specific teams (the Dolphins, Broncos and Texans are the other named defendants) will be a natural hurdle, even if it shouldn’t be under the law. Don’t expect Flores to surface as an option with the Giants (or, obviously, the Dolphins, if they make a move).
Flores will also have to choose wisely. When the window first opens for a coordinator, the temptation is strong to jump through it, the franchise’s broader issues be damned. When the window opens for the second time, the coach has to be much more careful, because this could be his last shot.
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Ultimately, Flores’ candidacy comes down to one owner and one organization making the move, and Flores deciding to make this team his second head coaching stop in the NFL. Anyone who saw Thursday’s Lions-Vikings game must at least be intrigued by the prospect of Flores bringing that kind of havoc-producing defense to a team in need of a boost. Otherwise, this team wouldn’t be looking for a new head coach.
