A Vikings assistant coach is retiring, plus the latest on Brian Flores

Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine is retiring this offseason, Kevin O'Connell announced in his end-of-season press conference on Tuesday.

Pettine has been with the Vikings for the past four years under O'Connell, who got his start in coaching in 2015 as the Browns' quarterbacks coach when Pettine was the head coach. The 59-year-old Pettine has spent over two decades in the NFL in various coaching roles. He started out with the Ravens in the early 2000s, was Cleveland's head coach for two years, and has also served as defensive coordinator for the Jets, Bills, and Packers.

"What a career he has had," O'Connell said. "Specifically for me, his impact on my football journey, both my time when I was around him as a player to him giving me the first opportunity to coach in this league, and then being a major part of a lot of our success over the four years we've had (in Minnesota). Want to take the moment to make sure we celebrate him and the great career it's been."

Mike Pettine — David Reginek-Imagn Images

With Pettine calling it a career, O'Connell and the Vikings will have an opportunity to give the title of assistant head coach to someone else in 2026. One obvious candidate would be Brian Flores, if the Vikings are able to bring him back as defensive coordinator on a new contract. If Flores doesn't land a head coaching gig in this cycle, there will be multiple factors for him to weigh when making a decision about where he wants to coach next season. Money will obviously be a big one, but the Vikings offering him the Asst. HC title could perhaps be a nice sweetener.

The latest on Flores

We've been covering all of the developments regarding Flores' future, most recently including a report that the Vikings are confident he'll only leave for a head coach position. A day later, there's already more to discuss.

On Tuesday, the Ravens announced that they've interviewed Flores for their head coaching vacancy. They are currently the only team connected to Flores in that capacity, but it's possible others could still follow. One team to potentially monitor moving forward is the Steelers, after Mike Tomlin's surprising announcement that he's stepping down after 19 seasons. Flores spent the 2022 season as an assistant under Tomlin in Pittsburgh.

We have completed an interview with Brian Flores for our head coach position. pic.twitter.com/okmnHWv1tv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 13, 2026

Earlier on Tuesday came a report that the Commanders are hoping to interview Flores for their defensive coordinator position. The Cowboys also reportedly plan to pursue him as a DC target. Because Flores' Vikings contract is expiring, the possibility of a lateral move exists. But O'Connell has said since before this season ended that he doesn't expect that to happen — a sentiment he reiterated on Tuesday.

"We've been really aggressive (in negotiations), and Flo knows exactly how we feel about him," O'Connell said. "But at the same time, I'm really excited for him. I think he's gonna for sure talk to one team about their head coach position, would not be surprised at all if it ends up being multiple. I think he's more than deserving, everything he's brought to our organization over these last three years.

"Our relationship is super strong. We're talking almost every day and just making sure he knows the intent of where we're at, to have him as our defensive coordinator. He's kept no secrets about his desire to stay here doing that role as well, but I think it's important that he totally commits to going through this head coaching process and puts his best foot forward. ... Excited for him to do so, all while knowing our No. 1 priority has been to get that (contract) done with him.

"I have a lot of confidence we're going to be able to get something done with him as our defensive coordinator."

The latest on Flores

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