Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores plays to rave reviews locally and nationally. He’s revered by Purple fans for his coaching prowess that has mostly wowed since coming to Minneapolis before the 2023 season.
He might be the best at what he does in franchise history. And Purple Nation frets about how long the Vikings can retain him, with a (small?) part of the fanbase hoping ownership will promote him to head coach replacing Kevin O’Connell.
The situation has a Vikings historical rub from about 20 years ago when Mike Tomlin, as a first-year defensive coordinator, directed a unit that was the No. 1 rushing defense and No. 8 in total yards yielded among NFL teams. The 2006 season was Tomlin’s only one with the Vikings who had a 6-10 record.
Still, he was a fan favorite and there’s been lamenting over the years that the Wilf ownership group should have dumped head coach Brad Childress in favor of Tomlin. That didn’t happen because Childress, never that popular with the fanbase, had only coached one season. Plus, Tomlin had no head coaching experience.
Tomlin departed the Vikings to become head coach of the Steelers where his tenure lasted 19 seasons. His teams made the playoffs 13 times. The Tomlin era’s highlight was winning Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.
Flores, 45, has been a head coach before and seems positioned to be one again. In three seasons with the Dolphins, 2019-2021, he had a 24-25 record with no playoff appearances.
His was a controversial tenure in south Florida with issues that included reported strained relationships with management and ownership. After his firing, he brought a lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams alleging systemic racial discrimination in coaching and executive hiring practices, and also retaliation for refusing to “tank” games. Litigation is still pending.
A former front office executive with NFL teams, communicating with Sports Headliners on condition of anonymity, offered perspective on Flores in a text message. “I think he will be a very good head coach (he’s learned how to better get along with all players compared to his Miami years) if he gets the opportunity with his lawsuit against the NFL and several teams—which is likely a potential stumbling block with some owners. But I think he’ll get a head job soon especially if the Vikings are a playoff team and win a playoff game or two.”
After yesterday’s 23-13 win over the Saints, the defense leads the NFL in fewest points allowed with 64. The unit is also tops in takeaways with six, third in yards allowed at 259.8 and tied for third in sacks with 17, per ESPN.com. The Vikings have the second-highest pressure rate (47.8 percent) of any defense through Week 5 since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats.
With Flores and his defense playing a major role, the Vikings are 5-0 this season and 9-0 dating back to last season.
In Flores’ first three seasons leading Minnesota’s defense (2023-25), the Vikings limited their opponents to 19.2 points per game (second-fewest league wide) and 317.1 yards per game, including 5.1 yards per play (ranking fourth).
What makes Flores so effective at what he does? “Flores is very creative and extremely aggressive with his blitzes, and he has smart players with experience in his system who can play multiple spots as rushers or droppers into coverage (such as Andrew Van Ginkel, Kyle Van Noy, Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson),” the source wrote. “He confuses QBs and o-linemen who don’t know who is rushing and who is dropping so he can scheme their best pass rusher, Dallas Turner, into sometimes being unblocked or one-on-one versus a tight end (as at the end of the win in Chicago).
“He’s certainly one of the two or three best DCs in the league today.”
Worth Noting
The same source offering his view on the Vikings trading quarterback J.J. McCarthy for a fifth-round draft choice to the Giants: “…I think they should’ve kept him this season as insurance if (Kyler) Murray and/or (Carson) Wentz gets hurt—then McCarthy is a much better option (with 10 starts and a 6-4 record) than (Max) Brosmer.
“They probably could’ve gotten a fifth for him at the November trade deadline or after the season. And they should’ve gotten an upgraded (contingent) draft pick if he starts and is successful with Giants, but they probably asked for the upgrade and were turned down… .
“McCarthy has the talent to be a good NFL QB, but he needs to become a much more accurate passer and prove he can stay healthy.”
The passing of former Bears tight end great and head coach Mike Ditka is a reminder about his dislike of the Metrodome. As Chicago’s coach in the 1980’s he reportedly said: “I just don’t like indoor domes,” Ditka said. “They weren’t meant for football. Football is meant to play it outside and on grass… .Indoor domes should be useful for roller rinks. That’s all they should be for. Roller skating.”
Vikings general manager Mike Lynn trolled Ditka by sending him a pair of roller skates which he wore in the Bears’ office.
Deep condolences to family and friends of Dick Hunegs, from St. Louis Park, who passed away at age 95 on September 27. A terrific trial lawyer, Dick was a passionate Golden Gophers football fan. He died at home watching his beloved team on TV playing the Washington Huskies.
Ironically, as a nine-year-old he attended his first Gopher game on September 28, 1940, watching Minnesota defeat the Huskies in Minneapolis.
The 2026 Gophers, who defeated the Huskies last month and were awful in their most recent game last Saturday against Purdue, are 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten games. Minnesota has defeated one team with a winning record, Michigan, 3-2. The combined record of Minnesota’s six opponents is 16 wins and 18 losses.