The NFL’s coaching carousel is officially spinning at full speed, and the news that all Minnesota Vikings fans were expecting to hear is now upon us.
Numerous sources are reporting that the Baltimore Ravens have requested to interview defensive coordinator Brian Flores for their vacated head coaching position.
The Ravens, in a move that came as a bit of a surprise, fired coach John Harbaugh after eighteen seasons following their season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Harbaugh is already a hot candidate, Baltimore is turning their attention to Flores, who is looking to get a second chance at being a head coach.
After spending a decade with the New England Patriots, Flores was hired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2019. He spent three seasons in Miami, a tenure that ended with accusations of Dolphins ownership pressuring him to lose games on purpose to improve the team’s draft position. The Dolphins were also fined a substantial amount and stripped of multiple draft picks, including their 2023 first-round pick, for improper contact with both coach Sean Payton and quarterback Tom Brady prior to Flores being fired by the Dolphins in January of 2022.
Flores still has an active lawsuit against the National Football League, alleging racial discrimination during the interview and hiring process that he went through with several teams. Specifically, the New York Giants had an interview scheduled with Flores for January 27, 2022, but had already decided that they were going to hire Brian Daboll on January 23, a decision that was reflected in text messages that he had received from Bill Belichick. It also accuses the Denver Broncos of conducting a sham interview with Flores during their hiring process. The lawsuit was filed on February 1, 2022 and still has not come to any sort of resolution.
After he was fired as the Dolphins coach, Flores spent one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their linebackers coach before being hired by the Vikings in 2023 following the firing of Ed Donatell.
Flores’ contract expires at the end of the season, so at this point he’s basically a free agent. The Vikings have, reportedly, been working to try to sign him to an extension to keep him as the defensive coordinator, but to this point those talks have not come to a resolution.
I would not expect this to be the only interview that Flores gets during the process. Well, unless the Ravens decide to jump on the opportunity and offer him a contract right away. But, if Brian Flores wants to be a head coach in the National Football League again, the Baltimore Ravens are going to be the first to, potentially, give him an opportunity.
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