Mike Pettine’s Comments Reveal a Major Red Flag Washington Dodged

ASHBURN, Va. – We know enough about the Washington Commanders’ defensive coordinator search to know that Brian Flores is not going to be the man hired for the job, and that may be the best part of the search when it’s all said and done.

Because sometimes not getting what we want is actually best for us, there is a chance the Commanders, who interviewed Flores for the position but have not confirmed they offered him the job, dodged a bullet on this one.

History can be cruel to everyone, but when it appears a coach all but retired because of Flores’s presence, that makes me think maybe he wouldn’t have been a good fit in the culture Washington has built under head coach Dan Quinn.

Jan 5, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings Assistant Head Coach / Outside Linebackers Mike Pettine talks to players on the bench during the first half of the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images | David Reginek-Imagn Images

Friction in Minnesota

“Probably not many [thoughts] that I would prefer to share,” former Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Mike Pettine recently responded when asked about Flores on an episode of the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show. “I mean, we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, and that's why I spent this past year on offense.”

Pettine began his NFL coaching career in 2002 with the Baltimore Ravens, and, aside from taking 2016 off after being fired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, has been involved with one team or another ever since.

With the Vikings, Pettine signed on in 2022 as the team’s assistant head coach and worked heavily on the defensive side of things for head coach Kevin O’Connell. While Flores came in as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2023, Pettine said he continued to work on that side until this most recent season, when he moved to the offensive side, seemingly because of Flores and his inability to get on the same page.

Pettine declined to go any further or to share details as to what led to the shift, but he did say just before answering that question that, "Football is a tough sport for tough people, and you've got to be able to look people in the eye and tell 'em what they're doing isn't good enough. And like I said, as long as it's done respectfully and you have a path for them to get to where they should be, and that was something I always looked for in coaches. Somebody that wouldn't shy away from having those conversations."

Direct but respectful toughness

Direct but respectful toughness is what I take away from Pettine’s comments, which tell me what he appreciates in a coach. If he doesn’t appreciate Flores, perhaps there’s something within that outline that doesn’t sit well with him.

Given that those same pillars are present in Quinn’s organization in Washington, it’s safe to at least speculate that Flores, who has had other character and culture complaints in his career, including in Minnesota, might not have been the best fit. And in that sense, when we hear Quinn and the general manager, Adam Peters, talk about the right people, not just the right traits, this may be an example of that.

Whether or not it would have worked out with Flores and the Commanders, we’ll never know. But we do know that this isn’t an organization that overlooks too many red flags when it comes to bringing in the right people for the mission.

Pettine, who is 59 years old, retired from the NFL this month, though on the broadcast he alluded to a brief retirement. If a relationship with one man at all led to that decision, then that may be the biggest red flag of all, and one that the Commanders surely wouldn’t have been too happy to plant inside their building.

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