The Minnesota Vikings let go of defensive coordinator Ed Donatell 12 days ago after the franchise flopped defensively in the playoffs against the New York Giants.
Since then, head coach Kevin O’Connell has interviewed Sean Desai (Seattle Seahawks), Brian Flores (Pittsburgh Steelers) Ryan Nielsen (New Orleans Saints) and Mike Pettine (Vikings) as a possible Donatell replacement.
The Zapruder portion of Vikings DC Search begins
Well, the search for a new defensive coordinator has gone silent on the radio lately, with fans wondering, “What’s the problem?” And on Tuesday, the Vikings fans lined up Zapruder part of the cycle, like Climb the Pockets Matt Anderson tweeted“Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah here in Mobile at the Senior Bowl speaking to Steelers Brian Flores who is a DC candidate here in MN.”
In fact, Adofo-Mensah was seen speaking to Flores, a future defense coordinator, whom the Vikings interviewed on January 26. Here is Anderson’s photo:
With the Vikings lacking a defensive boss, the NFL’s head coaching carousel became clearer Tuesday when the Houston Texans hired Demeco Ryans and the Denver Broncos settled on Sean Payton.
NFL Networks Ian Rapoport tweeted, “Incredible: The Broncos spent today AGAIN hiring DeMeco Ryans before he re-signed to the Texans, sources say. When he came to an agreement with the Texans, they moved and finished off Sean Payton.”
What does that mean? Payton was vying for the job of head coach of the Arizona Cardinals — and such is Flores. The Cardinals’ job could be the Viking Domino of hiring a defense coordinator, hence the quiet nature of last week’s DC search. Had the Cardinals signed to Payton on the dotted line, Flores could have been the Vikings’ first choice as Donatell’s replacement.
But Payton didn’t join the Cardinals, so viewers are now waiting for the announcement of the Cardinals’ top job. When it comes to Flores, he’s obviously off the table as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, and the team may switch to Seattle Seahawks’ Sean Desai, who did an interview with the club about a week ago.
Overall, the answer is an emphatic one Yes indeed – We are at the point in the process where photographing in the Senior Bowl appears to lead to clues as to the eventual hiring of the Minnesota defense coordinator.
Flores’ candidacy for the defensive coordinator job is particularly exciting because he was the first man mentioned by the franchise as Donatell’s replacement. After Donatell’s departure, most Viking enthusiasts lived on “Who will it be?” in two days. Then the interview news from Flores hit, and almost in unison the Vikings fans cheered.
We polled Viking loyalists on Twitter last week to gauge the temperature of public opinion, and Flores is the overwhelming fan favorite. a throw 86.1% of fans want Flores in the saddle directing traffic for the defense of the Vikings in September.
Flores spent 11 seasons in Bill Belichick’s system with the Patriots before taking the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins. Here is his story on tape:
brian flores,
as Miami HC,
Defense NFL Ranking:
DVOA —
2019 = 32
2020 = 11
2021 = 10
EPO/Play —
2019 = 32
2020 = 7
2021 = 8
The best piece of advice when monitoring Senior Bowl pictures, or searching for Vikigns DC in general, is to wait for the announcement of Arizona’s next head coach. If yes Not Flores, then Flores can take over the Vikings’ defensive gig.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday Raun saw and Sal spice. His obsession with Vikings dates back to 1996. Listed Guilty Pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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