Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has an expiring contract. The Vikings are trying to extend it. Even if they do, Flores can interview for head-coaching jobs and, if offered one, take it.
A survey of various high-level executives throughout the league has pointed to one obvious conclusion: He’ll most likely be a candidate, because of the effectiveness of his scheme. Generally speaking, his peers and various General Managers recognize that he’s doing a phenomenal job in Minnesota.
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Helping Flores in the coming cycle is the fact that, as one source put it, there are many names but very few standouts.
At least one G.M. regards Flores as the best defensive coordinator in the entire league, with a variety of pressures that make it very difficult for offenses to prepare each and every week. Some believe the scheme alone will get him serious consideration.
The other question relates to the bigger picture. Leadership of the team. Owners, as one executive put it, 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 belief through the rough spots, and there will always be one or two (or more) in a given season. The best head coaches instill a belief and a vision for attacking challenging situations with authenticity and real solutions.
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Interested teams will undoubtedly dig deep into his time with Miami, which didn’t go well. How much of that is on 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 stint as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, there are (and have been) league-wide rumblings about his interpersonal style during three years in Minnesota — some of which may trace to eleven seasons spent working for Bill Belichick in New England.
Still, as one source put it, the scheme is more important than the other stuff. That can be dealt with later, behind closed doors, if necessary.
It’s still unclear which teams will have openings. The Titans and Giants currently do. As to New York, the fact that the Giants are one of the named defendants to his arbitration/litigation against the NFL and four specific teams (the Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans are the other named defendants) will be a natural impediment, even if it by law shouldn’t be. Don’t expect Flores to surface as an option with the Giants (or, obviously, the Dolphins, if they make a change).
Flores also will need to choose wisely. When the window opens the first time for a coordinator, there’s a strong temptation to jump through it, broader issues with the franchise be damned. When the window opens the second time, the coach needs to be far more careful, because it could be his last shot.
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Ultimately, Flores’s candidacy comes down to one owner and organization deciding to make the move, and Flores deciding to make that team his second NFL head-coaching stop. Anyone who saw Thursday’s Lions-Vikings game has to at least be intrigued by the prospect of Flores bringing that kind of havoc-creating defense to a team that needs a boost. Otherwise, that team wouldn’t be looking for a new head coach.