When Brian Flores‘ contract with the Vikings expired, he was expected to become one of the hottest coaches on the market.
That level of interest never materialized. Flores only interviewed with three teams – the Ravens and the Steelers for their head coaching jobs and the Commanders for their defensive coordinator vacancy – and they all went in different directions.
The Vikings, meanwhile, did not even start a search for a replacement. They were clearly intent on keeping Flores in Minnesota, giving him the leverage to negotiate what might be the biggest coordinator contract in the league right now, if not all-time. The 44-year-old will earn over $6MM on his new deal, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Coaching contracts are not publicized in the same way player contracts are, so there is no definitive ranking of coordinator pay across the league. But the Raiders reportedly gave Chip Kelly $6MM per year to be their offensive coordinator in 2025, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, which was thought to be the most of any assistant coach in the league. He was fired along with the rest of Pete Carroll‘s staff after just one season, which could mean that Flores is now the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.
The Vikings tried to extend Flores before the end of the regular season, but he understandably wanted to explore potential head coaching opportunities. Another reason for his hesitation to re-up in Minnesota was “his unease with the direction of the front office,” according to Seifert.
However, the team’s decision to fire general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah 10 days after re-signing Flores is likely an example of correlation, not causation. It seems unlikely that a defensive coordinator could force a general manager out, not to mention the time gap between the moves.
Well worth paying a high level coordinator as much as a high end kicker.