Brian Flores didn’t get a fair shot in Miami in his first head coaching stint. The Vikings defensive coordinator wants another chance.
“Look, there’s only 32 of these jobs, so I would certainly want to be a head coach in this league again,” Flores said on The Adam Schefter Podcast, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
It remains to be seen whether he gets that chance.
Based on what he has done as defensive coordinator of the Vikings, he deserves one. Minnesota ranks 11th in yards allowed, third in points allowed and first in takeaways.
Flores, though, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and multiple teams in February 2022. Some claims have landed in arbitration, and others are pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as to whether they should be arbitrated.
Flores, who went 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins, including two winning seasons, received no interviews for any of the eight head coaching vacancies in 2024.
Flores spent 2022 with the Steelers before joining the Vikings as defensive coordinator.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called Flores a “terrible person” this summer, and former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said in 2023 that Flores’ coaching methods broke Tagovailoa.
“I think a lot of people view the Miami experience as [if] I see it as all negative,” Flores said. “I really don’t. I think it was a great experience for me and my family. There’s so much that I learned during my time there that’s made me a much, much better coach today. . . . Better in a lot of areas. And just in reflecting on that time, there’s things that obviously I would like to do better, but there’s also a lot of things that I would continue to implement.
“But it wasn’t all negative. Obviously, there was some things that I would have done better, but I thought it was a great experience and I’ve really, really come out of it in positive way and excited about where I am now. I really learned a lot from it.”
Flores and his family have found a home in Minnesota, with the Vikings giving his career new life. He joked with Schefter that his family might resist a move.
“But for me personally,” Flores said, “I think [being a head coach] is something that I would love to do again.”
The question remains: Will any team give him that chance?
