Vikings hire notable coach for DC position

Brian Flores has himself a new job.

Flores has accepted the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator position. Flores had been a candidate for the Denver Broncos’ DC job as well as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach job, but he ended up in Minnesota.

Interestingly, this will be the 41-year-old’s first time officially serving as a defensive coordinator.

Flores was with the New England Patriots from 2008-18. He ascended to the position of linebackers coach, where he was a de-facto defensive coordinator, but never held that title. 

Then he was hired to be the Miami Dolphins’ head coach in 2019, a position he held for three years.

Flores went 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins, finishing with consecutive winning seasons before being fired. He later filed a major racial discrimination lawsuit against the Dolphins, NFL and other teams.

Flores spent last season as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Steelers. Now he will be working in an official capacity as a defensive coordinator on Kevin O’Connell’s staff.

Minnesota’s defense has a lot of work to do to improve. They ranked 28th in the league in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed this season.