Vikings DC Brian Flores says he 'would love' to be NFL HC again

[Street Knowledge]

• Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterNov 12, 2024, 02:29 PM ET

EAGAN, Minn. -- Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores left no doubt Tuesday. As the NFL's head coaching carousel ramps up this winter, he wants to be a part of it.

"Look, there's only 32 of these jobs, so I would certainly want to be a head coach in this league again," Flores said on "The Adam Schefter Podcast."

The Vikings' defense ranks No. 1 in the NFL based on DVOA, making Flores one of the NFL's top-performing assistant coaches this season. But before speaking to Schefter, Flores had left questions about his future largely unaddressed since his controversial ouster as the Miami Dolphins' coach after the 2021 season.

He subsequently sued the NFL and several teams, alleging discrimination regarding his interview processes with Denver and New York and his firing by the Miami Dolphins. The NFL stripped the Dolphins of their 2023 draft pick, among other disciplinary measures, after an investigation into accusations of tampering that surfaced in Flores' lawsuit. But the lawsuit itself is still working its way through the legal system and the NFL's arbitration process.

Flores spent the 2022 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Vikings. He confirmed after the 2023 season that no NFL teams requested a head-coaching interview. Since then, he has been forced to address criticism from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who referred to Flores as a "terrible person" in an interview this summer. Another former Dolphins quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, said in 2023 that Tagovailoa "was broken" by Flores' coaching methods.

Speaking Tuesday to Schefter, Flores said there exists a public misconception of his time with the Dolphins.

"I think a lot of people view the Miami experience as [if] I see it as all negative," he said. "I really don't. I think it was a great experience for me and my family. There's so much that I learned during my time there that's made me a much, much better coach today ... better in a lot of areas. And just in reflecting on that time, there's things that obviously I would like to do better, but there's also a lot of things that I would continue to implement.

"But it wasn't all negative. Obviously, there was some things that I would have done better, but I thought it was a great experience and I've really, really come out of it in positive way and excited about where I am now. I really learned a lot from it."

Flores has spoken often this season about the football and social comfort zone he has found in Minnesota and joked with Schefter on Tuesday that his family might put up "some resistance" to moving away.

"But for me personally," he said, "I think [being a head coach] is something that I would love to do again."

Vikes DC Flores 'would love' to be NFL HC again

Brian Flores said on "The Adam Schefter Podcast" that he wants to be an NFL head coach again.

www.espn.com

 

[Piff Perkins]

Surprised he gave them that headline.

I honestly think Flores is still being blackballed and doesn't know it yet.

 

[Remote]

NFL Coordinator wants to be Head Coach.
Who could have ever imagined?

Well done, Adam Schefter.

For your next podcast, I heard that running backs want to score touchdowns. Perhaps you could interview Cam Akers next if you're still in Minnesota and see what his thoughts are about possibly getting into the end zone again.

 

[King Poetic]

I would hire him with the priority that he hire a kliff kingsburgy type offensive coordinator who know how to run a uptempo offense

And he can focus on defense

 

[Max Power]

But the lawsuit itself is still working its way through the legal system and the NFL's arbitration process.

Good luck with that.

I'm a big fan of Brian Flores but this lawsuit has probably fukked up his prospects. A lot of Boomer/Gen X fans of other teams respected him too before all that because they liked his tough guy personality and think Tua is a snowflake.