Vikings working on deal for Flores

[purplefaithful]

My only concern with BFlo is that when we needed to stop the run we could not in multiple games.  Was there a leaning curve for Allen and Hargrave that affected that?  As Sup alluded was the lack of O a big factor?  I’m not sure. 

I think an impact nose is by far our biggest need in the draft or FA. S is #2 unless Hitman defies the odds

A lot of us here think that traces to the big guy they gave the heave ho to b4 the season - Philips. 

Bad move imo...

[Montana Tom]

Pay the man - and give him an Asst Head Coach title too...

Its no secret he and his family love it here.

THIS!

[FLVike]

Seems the Cowboys have intentions to go after him for head coach.

[MaroonBells]

Seems the Cowboys have intentions to go after him for head coach.

Most of the Cowboy talk is about Flores replacing Matt Eberflus as DC there. But PA stated a couple weeks ago that sources told him Flores would only move on if he were to get a head coaching job, which makes some sense. I can't imagine Flores making a lteral move.

[purplefaithful]

Most of the Cowboy talk is about Flores replacing Matt Eberflus as DC there. But PA stated a couple weeks ago that sources told him Flores would only move on if he were to get a head coaching job, which makes some sense. I can't imagine Flores making a lteral move.

If I'm BFlo, do I want to work in a Jones or Wilf org? For a lateral move? 

Not a hard decision - for me at least.

[mblack]

Most of the Cowboy talk is about Flores replacing Matt Eberflus as DC there. But PA stated a couple weeks ago that sources told him Flores would only move on if he were to get a head coaching job, which makes some sense. I can't imagine Flores making a lteral move.

Nice leverage for better deal for him which he deserves

[purplefaithful]

MINNEAPOLIS -- Brian Flores delivered a résumé game as the football world watched on Christmas Day. The question now is simple: What will he do with it?

Flores' contract as the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator will expire after this season. NFL rules allow coordinators to break their deals if they are offered a head coaching job, but Flores' situation will allow him to explore his coordinator options around the league as well. There are no indications that either Flores or the Vikings are eager to part ways, and Flores enjoys wide latitude and significant personnel influence in Minnesota. But the franchise must brace for the possibility that it will lose one of its top assets.

"He's one of the smartest guys when it comes to schemes that I've ever been around," cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. said. "So he can't go anywhere. He's not allowed to go anywhere. No way. I know that everything happens for a reason, and it's always God's plan. But I definitely do not want him to go anywhere. I re-signed here last offseason and told him that he's one of the best coaches that I've been around, and that I wanted to come back and play for him. I don't want him to go anywhere."

Flores continues to operate one of the NFL's most unique schemes, one that has evolved this season to incorporate safety Harrison Smith as a quasi-playcaller on the field. On Thursday, the Vikings dismantled the Detroit Lions' offense, forcing six turnovers, sacking quarterback Jared Goff five times and producing a defensive success rate of 71% -- their second highest in a game since Flores arrived at the start of the 2023 season.

Amid a season lost long ago to poor quarterback play, the Vikings have evened their record at 8-8. Their defense, which ranks No. 8 in the NFL in defensive EPA per play, is the primary catalyst. In retrospect, coach Kevin O'Connell and Flores flipped a switch during the Week 6 bye as they prepared to reinsert quarterback J.J. McCarthy into the starting lineup.

"Our dialogue, was, 'Hey, let's just make sure we're being as aggressive as possible,'" O'Connell said. "And that's how [Flores] is by nature. But then also the element of Harrison being able to have a role in what we ultimately play when the ball gets snapped. And he's got an unbelievable feel of the system. ... He's really out there playing a game within the game. And it's been spectacular to watch.

"But you learn about each and every year. Teams are different and you learn that you might have to win different ways."

After blitzing at a rate of 31.4% before their bye week, the Vikings have blitzed on 51.8% of their defensive snaps since. But Flores has done it in new ways and combinations, in part by relying on Smith to apply the knowledge he has absorbed in his 14-year career to break playcalling tendencies and capitalize on what coaches can't always see from the sideline.

Smith missed the Vikings' first two games because of a personal health issue that arose during training camp, and he didn't get back to his full-time role until Week 7 -- the same time the Vikings elevated their aggressiveness. Since that point, Flores has regularly -- not on every play, but many -- given Smith the authority to change coverages and blitz alignments before the snap.

"Early in the year we were figuring out exactly what our individual roles were," Smith said. "And there was a lot of good, but it wasn't quite as tight. And then we've gotten maybe a little more aggressive in some things. And I think it's more just the belief in that. Without getting too into detail, it's a scheme that most guys have not come up playing with these rules and these techniques and stuff."

NFL coaches often give quarterbacks a series of plays to choose from on offense, but it's less common on defense. Speaking earlier this month about the arrangement, Flores said he first thought about the possibility while coaching now-retired safety Devin McCourty when they were with the New England Patriots in the late 2010s.

"I wasn't allowed to do it," Flores said, a reference to the final say that Patriots coach Bill Belichick retained on the scheme. "But that's kind of where it came to my mind, where if ever in that situation, a situation where we could do it, I would try to do it."

Smith's decisions have all been within the scheme. He referred to it as making "sense for the totality of the beliefs." But Flores hoped that it would also make it harder for teams to anticipate the Vikings' strategy.

"Every playcaller has tendencies," Flores said, "You do this on third down. You do this once they cross the 50-yard line. You do this on first down. Every one of us has got some. I know I have some and I'm constantly trying to break those tendencies. And when you have a player who can go out there and make checks or make calls, it's like having another playcaller out there. You can have my tendencies, but you don't have his. And so that's an added kind of layer there. It's probably kind of out there a little bit, but it's something that I think is pretty cool.

"And I think the players, they see it differently than we can from the sideline. There's mannerisms. There's alignments. There's things that we really can't see. Coaching is about giving these guys information and allowing them to take it, have ownership on it, and then execute. And so I think it's really good that we're able to do some of those things."

The connection culminated Thursday with one of the best games in Smith's career. He blitzed nine times, tied for his second most ever in a game. He sacked Goff once, batted down two of his passes and intercepted another.

Smith himself might be down to his final weeks with the Vikings, having considered retirement for the past several offseasons. He will turn 37 in February and many people in and around the organization have assumed 2025 would be his final season. He declined to comment on his future Thursday night.

But as the Vikings look this offseason for ways to return to the playoffs, the idea of doing it without Smith and/or Flores seems daunting.

ESPN/Seifert

[greediron]

I'll just lay these facts out there for those that want to chew on em...


Rank  2nd Pressure Rate 40.0%
Rank  3rd Passing Yards Allowed Per Game 168.8
Rank  5th Total Yards Allowed Per Game 292.7
Rank  8th   Defensive EPA per play N/A
Rank  9th Third-down conversion rate allowed N/A
Rank  10th Points Allowed Per Game 20.6 
Rank  22nd Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game 123.9

The defense is currently tied for the lead in the NFL in interceptions and second in total takeaways this season.

Not happy with the season overall, but the reason this team is .500 is not because of the defense.

Google AI

I will add

first team in 47 years to win by 10 or more points while generating fewer than 10 net passing yards.

and had 5 sacks in Seattle when the offense failed to get off the bus.  

I would give him a co-head coach title to keep him here.

[StickierBuns]

Going to have to pay the man. Maybe an org. like the Raiders are maverick enough to let ol' Petey go and hire Flores as HC. But my money is on a return to Minnesota.

[pattersaur]

Going to have to pay the man. Maybe an org. like the Raiders are maverick enough to let ol' Petey go and hire Flores as HC. But my money is on a return to Minnesota.

Would be the savviest thing the Raiders have done in a very long time. But maybe with Brady in the fold now they can turn the corner. They made sure they got the top overall pick also. Things can't get any worse in Vegas but they might be about to get considerably better. Finally. Maybe. The other HCs in their division-- Reid, Harbaugh, and Payton-- while very accomplished, aren't spring chickens. Hiring Flores or someone similar with fire and competence would be a big step towards some extra sunshine in Vegas.