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…
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