Vikings reportedly remain confident Flores will only leave for HC job

A week into the Vikings' offseason, the future of defensive coordinator Brian Flores remains one of the most prominent and important discussion points around the franchise.

After spending the last three seasons as Minnesota's DC under Kevin O'Connell, Flores' contract is set to expire, making him a coaching free agent. He's interviewing with the Ravens for their head coaching vacancy this week. There's also been buzz connecting him to the Raiders as a HC candidate and to the Cowboys as a coordinator target. The cloud hanging over the situation is the rumor that behind-the-scenes drama could contribute to Flores leaving the Vikings.

The latest on the Flores front comes from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, who reported this on Monday: "As we understand it, the Vikings remain confident Flores will be back, unless he lands a head-coaching job."

That echoes the sentiment expressed by O'Connell prior to the Vikings' final game of the season. A couple weeks ago, Minnesota's head coach said there had been internal discussions with Flores about his future, made it clear that he wants him back as his DC in 2026, and said he doesn't anticipate a scenario where Flores is a coordinator anywhere else next season.

Brian Flores — Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Despite the buzz about a possible schism between Flores and the Vikings, Florio's report indicates that Minnesota's view on the situation hasn't changed.

"It’s possible, frankly, that the Vikings have a tentative deal with Flores, but that a decision has been made to not put pen to paper until he has exhausted all head-coaching possibilities," Florio wrote.

For Vikings fans hoping to see Flores back on the U.S. Bank Stadium sidelines in 2026 and beyond, it's definitely good news that he's only been linked to one team (Baltimore) as a head coaching candidate thus far. The Raiders have a lengthy list of reported options that doesn't currently include Flores. It's certainly possible that Las Vegas or any of the six other teams with vacancies could interview him at some point, but there's also been nothing stopping them from getting that set up — if they viewed Flores as a legitimate candidate — over the past week.

As has been the case in each of the past two offseasons, Flores has two things presumably working against him in his desire to become a head coach again: His ongoing lawsuit against the NFL and the uncomfortable way his three-year stint in Miami ended. The former can't legally be held against him in the hiring process, but to pretend it's not a factor would be naive.

Until something changes, it seems like the expectation should be that Flores will either land a HC job in the next couple weeks or return to the Vikings with a new contract to remain their DC.

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