While Brian Flores‘ contract technically doesn’t expire until after the Super Bowl, the current Vikings defensive coordinator is effectively a free agent. While Flores has generated interest for at least one head coaching job, there’s confidence that he’ll land back in Minnesota if he’s unsuccessful during this year’s hiring cycle.
[RELATED: Ravens To Interview Brian Flores For HC Vacancy]
As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com writes, the Vikings “remain confident” that Flores will be back on their sideline in 2026, barring him getting a head coaching gig. Florio even suggests that the organization may already have a tentative deal lined up for Flories, although neither side would commit until the veteran coach exhausts all of his promotion opportunities.
While Flores never held the role of defensive coordinator in New England, he made a name for himself as a defensive wiz during his time with the Patriots. He lost some of his shine following a tumultuous head coaching gig in Miami, but he’s seemingly rehabbed his image thanks to his recent stint as the Vikings defensive coordinator. Following solid showing in 2023 and 2024, Flores’ unit posted top-five numbers in 2025, putting him firmly back on the head coaching map.
Of course, Flores still isn’t generating the same interest as some of his peers. While there were rumblings that Tom Brady could recruit Flores to Las Vegas, the veteran coach has only generated one definitive interview with the Ravens. While a lack of interviews would increase Flores’ chances of sticking in Minny, Albert Breer of SI.com says the defensive coordinator is actually a “strong fit” for the Baltimore job. As Breer notes, the Ravens will be seeking a coach who fits “the franchise as much as the franchise will morph to the new coach,” and Flores would apparently be a good match for Baltimore’s operation.
On the flip side, Flores’ pending lawsuit against the NFL could dissuade suitors from pursuing him as a head coach. Flores’ claims against the league and three teams – the Broncos, the Giants, and the Texans – revolve around the coach’s belief that those organizations allegedly conducted sham head coaching interviews to comply with the Rooney Rule. The NFL recently filed a petition for writ of certiorari with SCOTUS in an effort to keep all of Flores’ claims in arbitration rather than open court. This would further delay any trial or hearing on the merits of the suit, which Flores initiated nearly four years ago.
Translation: No ones touching the dude that went against the great Oz. How dare he bite the hand.
The NFL’s fight against bringing this suit to court is a bigger and clearer issue than the arguments over the merits of the case itself. It unites people from different perspectives from across the league (if they care about the case, of course). That probably is making Flores a bigger thorn in the league’s side than the actual suit itself does-losing the arbitration ability would crater the league’s ability to rule on happenstance at its leisure. They’ll fight harder for that than for a new TV grovel-fest from an overpriced streaming service.
One of the few head coaching candidates with real accomplishments who can do the job at a high level. Flores is also not a senior citizen (44 years old) so there’s a potential long successful run for the team who does hire him.
Hiring head coaches on a 3 year cycle is a loser’s game.
Starting with a head coach sixty or over is a waste of time, the coach will run out of gas before they get anywhere. Even grey beard Andy Reid was only fifty-five when he started at Kansas City. It’s one thing to keep a well-oiled system running, it’s another thing to start the full hire from zero. Another example of at least partially successful second chance coach, Dan Quinn was 53 when he started as head coach in Washington.