The Minnesota Vikings signed defensive coordinator Brian Flores to a contract extension this week that will go into effect unless he is named the next Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. However, following his retirement, former Vikings assistant coach Mike Pettine is opening the door back up to long-held concerns around the league that might be preventing Flores from becoming a head coach again.
During an appearance on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Pettine was asked for his thoughts on Flores. He quickly made it clear that he didn’t see “eye to eye” with the Vikings defensive coordinator and the working relationship reached a point where Pettine spent this past season assisting Kevin O’Connell with the defense. Pettine retired following the season.
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“Not many that I would prefer to share. I mean we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. That’s why I spent this past year on offense. I was there 23-24 on defense. I’ll take the high road on that one.”
Former Minnesota Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine on working with Brian Flores
As Andrew Krammer of The Minnesota Star Tribune also points out, Pettine is not the only coach in Minnesota who made a change after some time working with Flores. Chris Rumph joined the Vikings coaching staff in 2022 as the defensive line coach. Flores was hired ahead of the 2023 season, and by October, Rumph left the team on personal leave and did not return. He joined the Clemson Tigers as defensive ends coach in 2024.
Flores does seem to be well-liked by the defensive players he coaches, as his time in Minnesota will attest. It is also worth noting that despite indications of Flores clashing with some members of the Vikings coaching staff, he just signed a new contract to remain the defensive coordinator for the team.
There has also been talk in the past about Flores and his issues with other coaches during his time as the Miami Dolphins head coach. He also, as has been well-documented in recent years, clashed with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to a point that went outside the norms of a coach criticizing his quarterback. While Flores has since apologized for how he treated Tagovailoa, the concerns about his personality and ability to work well with other coaches remain.
Between that and the ongoing discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams, it is no surprise that not many teams have brought Flores in for head coaching interviews. He remains a candidate to replace Tomlin as the Steelers coach, but that is the only head-coaching vacancy he’s in consideration for now.
