Brian Flores officially back with Vikings; Daronte Jones in Saints' DC mix?

Flores has three years of previous head-coaching experience and has led one of the best defenses in the NFL over the past two seasons, particularly this past year. On the surface, that makes it puzzling that he didn't get a job in this cycle. But his ongoing lawsuit against the NFL and his handling of Tua Tagovailoa in Miami remain obstacles — whether fair or not — between him and another opportunity to be a head coach. It's at least a step in the right direction for Flores that he got multiple interviews this year.

The Vikings are thrilled to retain Flores for at least a third year. His scheme is outstanding, his players love him, and he pairs with Kevin O'Connell to form one of the best offense/defense coaching duos in the NFL. Flores will play a big role in Minnesota's personnel additions on defense this offseason.

“I can’t speak more highly about what Brian Flores has brought to Minnesota," O’Connell said last week on PFT Live. "He has been fantastic. Scheme, relationship with players, my personal relationship with him, how we build our team. I think Brian Flores should be a head coach in the National Football League. He will be again. ... But, at the same time, we feel like we’ve got some unfinished business together in Minnesota and we can’t wait to get to work for 2025."

Could Jones be in the mix in NOLA?

Moore, an offensive coach, will need to get his defensive coordinator hire right. One potential candidate, as floated by The Athletic's Alec Lewis, could be Vikings defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, who previously interviewed with the Bears (who hired Dennis Allen) and Jaguars (Anthony Campanile) for their DC openings.

Jones is one of Flores' top assistants and is viewed as a future defensive coordinator in the league. He got his start in the NFL in 2016 and has been with the Vikings for three of the past four seasons, with one year as LSU's DC in between.

With that said, according to Adam Schefter , a "leading candidate" to land the Saints job is former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. We'll see what happens there.

The only notable coach or executive the Vikings have lost this year is Grant Udinski, who was hired as the Jaguars' offensive coordinator under Liam Coen. The 29-year-old rising star was one of O'Connell's trusted assistants on the offensive side of the ball.

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