Brian Flores, Brian Daboll On Raiders’ Radar?

The first of these recent HC firings removed Josh McDaniels from his position, with GM Dave Ziegler and OC Mick Lombardi booted as well. That effectively ended the Patriot Way in Las Vegas, but Brady’s arrival a year later may change that. Brady may be looking at some of his former coaches this time around.

Rumblings around the NFL have introduced Brian Flores as a candidate to become the next Raiders HC, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes, with Brian Daboll on the OC radar. Following that report, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson floated Flores and Daboll as staff options for the Raiders. Brady has a history with both.

Flores, 44, coached in New England from 2008-18, closing his chapter with a dominant defensive performance in Super Bowl LIII. With Flores as the de facto Patriot DC, the Rams scored three points in that game to give Brady a low bar to clear en route to his sixth Super Bowl win. The Dolphins soon hired Flores as HC.

Daboll, 50, enjoyed two stints with the Patriots. He was part of Bill Belichick‘s first staff back in 2000 and stayed on through 2006, collecting three Super Bowl rings during that period and ending his run as Pats wide receivers coach. Daboll returned to add two more rings while working as New England’s tight ends coach from 2013-16.

Flores has appeared on the HC carousel previously, though perhaps not as much as someone with his experience and credentials should have. Regarded as a top-tier defensive coordinator, Flores is presently suing the NFL and four teams for racial discrimination. A ruling this past summer will allow that lawsuit to proceed to open court, representing new territory for the league. A team hiring Flores as HC under these circumstances may be challenging to envision, and even conducting interviews may meet obstacles based on where the Vikings DC’s lawsuit is headed.

In Minnesota since 2023, Flores no longer has a Vikings contract. Mutual interest exists between the parties to continue working together, but Flores is a coaching free agent. This means the Vikes cannot block a lateral move, with SI.com’s Albert Breer noting DC-needy teams may pursue him. Flores could potentially be a defensive coordinator option in Vegas, depending on the team’s offer, but it would be expected he receives multiple lucrative proposals to leave Minnesota to lead a defense.

The Vikings ranked seventh in scoring defense this season and allowed the third-fewest yards. The latter number represents a significant improvement after a 16th-place finish in 2024. Flores could certainly challenge Vic Fangio to become the NFL’s highest-paid DC; that number is believed to be near $5MM. The Vikings will probably need to go near or beyond that territory to retain Flores.

Flores and Brady are believed to have a good relationship, per Florio, who adds the former Dolphins HC was onboard with bringing in Brady — assuming he kept the Miami job beyond the 2021 season. But Flores’ ensuing lawsuit bombshell and tanking allegations against Stephen Ross scuttled the Dolphins’ rumored plan to bring in Brady — amid retirement No. 1 — and Sean Payton in 2022. Brady circling back to Flores after that would be interesting, and Mark Davis signing off on more ex-Patriots staffers would qualify as unusual given how poorly the McDaniels-Ziegler experiment went. But Davis has entrusted Brady with plenty of responsibility since the NFL approved his minority stake.

It is quite possible Flores will be stuck on the coordinator level thanks to his lawsuit. Teams will be leery of meeting with him after he used private conversations with owners as ammunition to craft a lawsuit, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert adds. Part of Flores’ lawsuit touches on the Giants hiring Daboll over him in 2022. That pair of ex-Belichick lieutenants reuniting in Vegas would be quite interesting through that lens.

Daboll, however, is on track to receive OC interest after three-plus years as the Giants’ HC. Daboll has been an NFL OC on four occasions, and he called Giants plays in 2024. The recently fired HC’s experience will be a plus for coordinator interest, and the Raiders will surely not be the only team to call him in for an interview. Whichever OC candidate lands that job could soon be working with a quarterback drafted first overall.