Vikings' Brian Flores says it would take 'right situation' to accept another head coaching job

Emily Leiker, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 7, 2025

Published in Football

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MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is entering another round of head coaching interviews.

“Any time you’re mentioned in head coaching conversations or receive requests, it’s an honor,” Flores said Tuesday, while adding that he is “locked in” on the Vikings' wild-card matchup with the Rams on Monday night.

On Monday, the Jets requested an interview for their head coaching vacancy; Robert Saleh was the first NFL coach fired this season, on Oct. 8. The Bears, who fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29, have also reportedly requested an interview with Flores.

Asked about the opening in New England, where Flores spent the first 15 seasons of his coaching career, he said that he would be interested but that it wasn’t up to him if he was considered. There are no reports of the Patriots having requested an interview after they fired first-year coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday.

He will not be able to interview with any teams for head coaching jobs until Jan. 16, three days after the Vikings play their wild-card game.

Flores, in his second season with the Vikings, was previously head coach for the Dolphins from 2019-21. He was fired and sued the team, alleging owner Stephen Ross offered him money to lose and pressured him to violate NFL tampering rules. He also filed suit against the NFL and three other teams for discriminatory hiring practices.

Asked what he would be paying attention to in his interviews, Flores said it’s no different than an interview in any industry: connection, vibe, energy. Is it an environment he could see turning into a winning one?

Flores lauded the Vikings players and staff, calling his time in Minnesota so far “one of the most rewarding” experiences of his coaching journey.

He said when he left the Steelers in 2022, after one season as linebackers coach, he was looking to work with an offensive mind like Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell to expand his knowledge about that side of the ball.

“I can bounce questions off him and kind of pick his brain from an offensive standpoint, and he does the same thing with me, so it’s been a great kind of marriage,” Flores said. “I don’t want to leave without saying it’s been fantastic here in Minnesota. It would have to be the right situation for me to leave.”

More prepared for Rams' game-changer

Flores was candid Tuesday that the return of Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua for the Oct. 24 game between the teams caught him and his defense off-guard.

Nacua missed five games with a sprained PCL suffered in Week 1. He’d just made his practice return from injured reserve two days before catching seven passes for 106 yards in the Rams’ 30-20 win against the Vikings.

“Quite honestly, we were a little bit surprised that he was out there,” Flores said. “We found out, let’s call it, four hours before a game. ... There was a little bit of scrambling.”

Flores said there’s little a team can do in that situation. They were somewhat familiar with Nacua from his 2023 tape but had virtually nothing on him from the current season.

This time, his defense will be better prepared. Nacua has appeared in every game since for the Rams — save last weekend, when they rested their starters against the Seahawks — and has 79 receptions for 990 yards and three touchdowns.

“They’re a very different team with Puka out there. Very different,” Flores said. “He brings an element in both the run and the pass game. That’s why he’s the player that he is. He opens things up for other players. Cooper Kupp is No. 1, certainly, but it’s really two No. 1s you’re dealing with.”

Vikings remain confident in Reichard

Both Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said this week the team remains confident in rookie kicker Will Reichard after three missed field goals and a botched kickoff in the past two games.

“I know Will is as confident as any kicker I’ve ever been around in himself and holds himself to an incredibly high standard, so when results don’t happen for him as a young player, I think it shows sometimes and that’s OK,” O’Connell said.

O’Connell said that Reichard’s kickoff error that set up the Lions for three points before halftime on Sunday night was a mishit. Daniels explained Reichard accidentally struck the ball with the heel of his foot trying to boot it into the end zone.

Daniels also likened the delay before the 51-yard attempt Reichard missed in Detroit to an icing, though said it wasn’t an excuse. The officials moved the ball forward less than a full yard on a replay-assisted call after the Vikings kicking unit had lined up.