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One week after stifling probably the greatest play-callers within the NFL, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is tasked with doing the identical to one of many league’s greatest up-and-coming play-callers Sunday in opposition to the Houston Texans.
Flores appears to have the important thing to beating Kyle Shanahan contemplating the Vikings are the one NFC crew to beat the 49ers in a significant recreation since final season, and so they’ve accomplished so twice. Now he faces Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, from the Shanahan teaching tree himself, in a matchup of two 2-0 groups on CBS.
The Vikings have probably the greatest defenses within the league early within the season, and any sustained success would sometimes result in the defensive coordinator getting head-coaching interviews. However earlier than that doubtlessly occurs, the previous Miami Dolphins head coach faces questions on his relationship together with his outdated quarterback whereas additionally nonetheless serving as a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit in opposition to the NFL.
I talked with 10 sources throughout the league and varied groups and ranges about Flores. What makes him such coordinator, whether or not he ought to get one other alternative to be a head coach and, extra importantly, whether or not he really will get one other shot.
Vikings stats
By the primary two weeks of the season, the Vikings lead the NFL in sacks (11) and quarterback hits (19) whereas being tied for the league lead in pressures with 36.
When speaking about top-of-league numbers and Flores, you’d anticipate a excessive blitz charge. However these Vikings are blitzing on only a third of dropbacks thus far, nicely down from the 50.7% charge that led the league in 2023.
With a blanket caveat that we’re barely a tenth of the best way by the season, the Vikings are third in factors allowed after going through the Giants and the 49ers. Nonetheless, with a blitz charge reduce by practically 20 proportion factors, the Vikings are getting higher strain than final yr (38.7% this yr in comparison with 32.1% final yr.)
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the third runner-up to final yr’s NFL MVP, informed Flores on the sphere after San Francisco’s 23-17 loss final week: “Your scheme is loopy.” Extra on that later.
‘The Tua stuff’
Coming off a Super Bowl victory because the Patriots‘ de facto defensive coordinator, Flores went to the Dolphins as their subsequent head coach forward of the 2019 season. He went 24-25 in his three seasons there, together with two profitable seasons highlighted by a 10-6 mark in 2020.
However the Dolphins didn’t make the playoffs whereas he was on the helm. Dolphins proprietor Stephen Ross fired Flores after three years partly because of the crumbling of the connection between Flores and franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
In a podcast over the summer, Tagovailoa referred to Flores as a “horrible particular person” and recounted his relationship together with his former coach.
“To place it within the easiest phrases, in the event you awakened each morning and I informed you that you just suck at what you probably did, that you do not belong doing what you do, that you just should not be right here, that this man ought to be right here, that you have not earned this,” Tagovailoa mentioned. “After which you will have anyone else are available in and inform you, ‘Dude, you’re the greatest match for this. You are correct. You are the most effective no matter, you are this, you are that.’ How would it not make you’re feeling listening to 1 or the opposite?”
Flores responded to Tagovailoa in his personal press convention shorlty after the podcast aired. He mentioned he was completely satisfied for the quarterback and wished him nicely.
“Look, I am human,” Flores mentioned. “So, that hit me in a manner that I would not say was optimistic for me. However on the identical time, I’ve received to make use of that and say, ‘Hey, how can I develop from that, or how can I be higher?’ And that is actually the place I am at from that standpoint.
“Do I really feel like that is me? No. However how can I develop from that state of affairs and create a world the place that is not the case the place anybody says that about Brian Flores?”
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who performed for Flores for 2 of his three seasons in Miami, mentioned on Prime Video that Tagovailoa’s expertise was not his expertise.
“Look, there’s a sure type that Flo coached with. For me, he coached me in a different way than he coached Tua. The intention of what Flo did was to attempt to get the most effective out of Tua,” Fitzpatrick mentioned earlier this month. “While you put the teaching type that he had with Brian Flores and you place it subsequent to what Mike McDaniel got here and did, which is love him up and inform me how nice he was, then it in all probability made it look like it was even worse than perhaps it was at the moment.”
One high-ranking NFC government informed me: “He is coach. Whether or not he is discovered from Miami energy battle/habits could be key. The Tua stuff shall be robust for him.”
Requested if Flores might overcome Tagovailoa’s feedback, one other high-ranking government with a unique crew mentioned: “In time. His humble preliminary response to it was good.”
An NFL evaluator who has identified Flores for a number of years mentioned he was positive Flores coached Tagovailoa arduous, however discovered the “horrible particular person” remark to be “manner out of bounds.”
“After assembly with a whole lot of coaches and front-office personnel and self-reflecting, he has a significantly better understanding of how gamers and folks basically are wired now,” the supply mentioned. “He has a greater pulse on learn how to deal with gamers from a psychological standpoint. He’ll deal with all of them pretty, however he understands he cannot coach everybody the identical manner. He will not make that mistake once more.”
The lawsuit
In February 2022 Flores filed a category motion lawsuit in opposition to the NFL claiming racial discrimination. His allegations included particular claims in opposition to the Giants, Broncos and Texans, and later he was joined by two extra former NFL coaches. At present, a lot of the lawsuit is in NFL arbitration.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin employed Flores a couple of months after the swimsuit was filed as a senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach for the Steelers.
The supply conversant in Flores mentioned that yr helped give the coach much more perspective.
“Spending a yr with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh allowed him the chance to view the whole lot firsthand from a really profitable head coach who’s quite a bit like him from a persona and background standpoint,” the supply mentioned. “Seeing how Mike managed individuals whereas additionally maintaining requirements and expectations excessive was massive for him. Brian will not fear about small issues that do not have an effect on wins and losses this time round.”
After a season in Pittsburgh, the Vikings employed Flores as their defensive coordinator in 2023. The Vikings had the Thirteenth-ranked scoring protection and Sixteenth-ranked whole protection after faltering within the closing 4 video games of final season. Flores didn’t get a head-coaching interview alternative following the 2023 season.
Flores participated within the NFL’s Accelerator Program on the league conferences in Could. It was the second league assembly Flores had attended because the Vikings defensive coordinator, stopping subsequent door in 2022 when the identical conferences have been held in Minnesota.
“He was distinctive,” mentioned a supply within the room. “A frontrunner within the room with different coaches, expressed degree of vulnerability/management throughout classes and robust engagement with [team] house owners” in the course of the conferences.
Rod Graves, government director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, sat in on these conferences and helped conduct mock interviews classes with all of the individuals, together with Flores. Graves mentioned Flores “introduced himself as an impressive skilled in our interviews.”
“We talked about constructing a championship-caliber crew. He was excellent in each part of dialogue. He was poised, displayed distinctive information of head coach administration, dealing with gamers and coping with the sport,” Graves says.
“He spoke briefly — and I do not wish to violate any belief right here — about classes discovered and the way he would use these earlier experiences to be extra of an efficient chief, even his progress as an individual. He actually, clearly, was probably the greatest interviews we carried out.”
Whether or not an NFL proprietor would really rent somebody to be a face of their franchise whereas they’re actively suing the league is a query you, the reader, doubtless have an opinion on. However within the time because the submitting of the swimsuit, two completely different franchises have employed him, and the league hasn’t handled him like a leper at conferences.
Why he is so profitable
The stats are the stats, however what about Flores’ scheme is so “loopy,” as Purdy put it, that makes it so arduous?
“[Shanahan’s] superpower is having the reply for the whole lot. He can predict what the protection will do and manipulate the principles of the protection,” mentioned one evaluator who watched the 49ers-Vikings recreation. “Not that Flores’ scheme is unsound, but it surely’s not logical in a soccer sense. Offensive formations, shifts, motions do not work. They do not react like a traditional protection would or how we would anticipate.”
Say the nickel is creeping towards the road of scrimmage. A quarterback could sometimes learn that as believing there might be a void within the flat. However on the snap, Flores could ship the deep-half security screaming down into the flat the place the void in protection was speculated to be, complicated the quarterback and the remainder of the eligible receivers.
“It is actually simply the unpredictability of it. They only accomplish that a lot to disguise and window gown what they’re actually attempting to do and so they have the personnel to be a number of and versatile,” mentioned a second NFL evaluator. “Laborious to inform who, if anybody, is bringing strain and who’s dropping. What is the protection excessive? Is it actually man or are they only enjoying zone with man rules.
“It will get the offense to second-guess issues and makes them suppose they must take sure choices off the desk when it comes to calling and checking performs. He is accomplished some of these things since New England, but it surely’s undoubtedly advanced over the previous 5 years or so.”
A 3rd evaluator made the purpose that such unpredictability can result in early season success, however questioned whether or not it may possibly maintain up late within the yr.
The Vikings have been fifth in factors allowed and tenth in yards allowed by the primary 14 weeks of final season. From Week 15 till the top of the yr, when Minnesota went 0-4 amid a number of accidents, the Vikings have been thirtieth in factors and thirty first in yards.
“One thing tells me the unpredictability might put on off and folks work out learn how to scheme him up,” a fourth evaluator informed me. “However he’d be so robust in a non-common opponent state of affairs. I’ve to think about he is hell to arrange for on a ‘Thursday Night time Soccer’ week.”
The place the NFL is trending
The final NFL teaching cycle doubtlessly supplied a glimpse into the approaching cycle this yr. Of the seven head coaches employed final cycle, 4 are defensive-minded coaches. And three of the seven beforehand held head-coaching jobs within the NFL.
“Given success of DeMeco [Ryans] and doubtlessly [Mike] Macdonald, defensive guys could also be en vogue,” mentioned a high-ranking crew government.
The Shanahan-McVay system, or extra broadly coaches from the Mike Shanahan tree, have taken over the NFL in recent times. Together with Shanahan and Sean McVay there are the likes of Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, Arthur Smith and Zac Taylor who’re major play-callers for his or her groups.
And within the pipeline of candidates to be an NFL head coach embody Houston OC Bobby Slowik, New Orleans OC Klint Kubiak and Atlanta OC Zac Robinson, to call a couple of.
Going again to 2020 as both the Dolphins head coach or Vikings defensive coordinator, Flores has gone 6-1 in opposition to head coaches who come from that tree.
A number of sources indicated their hesitation with hiring Flores sooner or later could be the quarterback place. How nicely he mixes with a younger quarterback might come into query in the course of the interview course of.
“If he interviews for head-coaching jobs sooner or later, he might want to have his QB teaching and growth plan ironed out intimately,” mentioned the supply near Flores. “He might want to convey how he’s higher suited to deal with quarterbacks and offensive soccer basically. A crew with a secure QB state of affairs could be good to incorporate their QB within the interview course of.”
Others mentioned suggestions from fellow coaches and, maybe most significantly, his gamers would go a great distance in serving to him land one other job. “In my view,” a second high-ranking crew government mentioned, “house owners that wish to win like sizzling candidates with advocates.”
There’s nonetheless practically nine-tenths of the season remaining, and the Vikings protection has lots extra to show. However lots across the league see a path to Flores returning as a head coach if all goes nicely.
