Minnesota Vikings hire in-demand Brian Flores as defensive coordinator
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Minnesota Vikings hire in-demand Brian Flores as defensive coordinator after interviewing for Cardinals head coach job … as resurgence continues following racial profiling lawsuit against NFL
The Minnesota Vikings plan to hire Brian Flores as defensive coordinator after a month-long search to replace former coordinator Ed Donatell according to ESPN.
Flores spent last season as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ primary defensive assistant/coach.
He’s ready to take over a defense that finished 31st in the NFL in yards allowed and is likely to experience significant personal changes this offseason.
Before spending a year with the Steelers, Flores spent several years as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, where he was known for running a heavyweight scheme that implored a lot of man coverage in the secondary.
That would essentially be a full 360 of the scheme the Vikings were using under Donatell, who preferred to use just his front four to rush the passer while dropping the rest of his defense into zone coverage.
Former Steelers senior defensive assistant and LB coach Brian Flores named Vikings DC
Before spending a year on the Steelers’ staff, he spent three seasons as Miami’s head coach.
During his time as head coach of the Dolphins, Flores had a 24-25 record that saw him improve from 5-11 in his first year to 10-6 in his second and 9-8 in his third.
After being fired by Miami despite back-to-back winning seasons, he was seen as a candidate who was a favorite to quickly land a head coaching job with another team until he filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and the Dolphins, Denver Broncos and New York Giants alleging racial discrimination. The case is still tied up in the court system.
Among Flores’s claims were allegations that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him a $100,000 loss to help lead the team’s collapse in 2019 and allegations that the Broncos and New York Giants hired him to ‘fake’ interviews simply to comply with the Rooney Rule.
Before being announced as the Vikings’ coordinator, Flores was among the finalists for the Arizona Cardinals’ head coaching job with Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
Anarumo and Kafka were said to be among the finalists for the Cardinals with Flowers job.