During his second year as Vikings Defensive coordinator, Brian Flores helped transform Minnesota’s defense into one of the best units in the NFL. During the regular season, the Vikings defense produced 33 takeaways, tied for first in the league, while allowing only 19.5 points per game, which was fifth best in the NFL.
Flores’ work as defensive coordinator has allowed him to get interviews for head coaching vacancies, which is a far cry from where he was two years ago. Flores spent three years as Dolphins head coach, but he created a lot of controversy when the team fired him.
Flores has had a very eventful coaching career so far, although it now appears to be trending upwards. Here’s everything you need to know about Flores’ training schedule so far.
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Brian Flores Coaching Timeline
| Years) | Team | Position(s) |
| 2008-2018 | New England Patriots | Special teams assistant, offensive assistant, special teams coach, defensive assistant, safeties coach, linebackers coach |
| 2019-2021 | Miami Dolphins | Head coach |
| 2022 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach |
| 2023-present | Minnesota Vikings | Defensive coordinator |
Flores began his coaching career with the Patriotsserving in various roles on Bill Belichick’s team. In 2018, in his third year as linebackers coach, Flores called New England’s defensive plays following the departure of Matt Patricia.
The Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2018, helping Flores land his first head coaching job with the Dolphins. While Flores had a 24-25 record during his Miami tenure, including 19-14 over the last two years, Miami fired Flores after three seasons when the head coach lost a power struggle with the manager General Chris Grier.
In the years since Flores’ firing, Dolphins players have revealed where things went wrong, accusing the former head coach of being too hard on them. Tua Tagovailoa asked the players to speak up, as the quarterback said Flores was trying to break him down instead of building him.
The aftermath of Flores’ firing was chaotic, as Flores failed to land another head coaching job. The former Dolphins head coach accused the league and the Dolphins of racial discrimination, ultimately filing a class-action lawsuit against the league.
Following his decision to pursue the NFL and certain teams, Flores was unable to land a defensive coordinator job. However, the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin signed Flores as a senior defensive assistant and linebacker when Pittsburgh went 9-8 in 2022.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Vikings hired Flores as their new defensive coordinator. Minnesota was coming off a 13-3 record in the 2022 regular season, but lost at home in the wild-card round to the Giants. Head coach Kevin O’Connell fired Ed Donatell after one season leading the defense and hired Flores to replace him.
Brian Flores Trial
After the Dolphins fired Flores, the veteran coach was looking for another head coaching position. However, after interviewing for a few jobs, including with the Giants, he didn’t land any.
Flores received a text from Bill Belichick congratulating him on getting the Giants job, but the text was intended for Brian Daboll, who actually got the job. According to Flores, this confirmed to him that coaches face racial discrimination in the league.
“I think there are behind-the-scenes conversations, behind-the-scenes meetings that often influence decisions,” Flores said on NPR’s “The Limits” podcast in 2022. “There has to be a fair and equal opportunity to interview and showcase – like I said before, showcase your leadership abilities and win one of these positions.
This led Flores to file a class action lawsuit against the NFL, Dolphins, Giants, BroncosAnd Texans. Other minority coaches soon joined the suit, including Steve Wilks and Ray Horton.
Among other things, Flores also accused Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering him $100,000 for every tank loss in 2019, but the NFL found no evidence of that claim.
Brian Flores-Tua Tagovailoa Relationship
Flores had his own issues related to his tenure with the Dolphins, as Tua Tagovailoa said the former head coach hurt his development. In an interview with Dan Le Betard, Tagovailoa accused Flores of significantly hurting his confidence in his training.
“If you woke up every morning and I told you [that] you are worthless because of what you did, that you have no place doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here [instead]that you have not earned this right,” Tagovailoa said.
Flores responded to those accusations earlier this season, saying he had no ill will toward Tagovailoa.
“I’m really happy with Tua’s success and I wish him nothing but the best,” Flores said. “Relationships with players are very important to me. I think that’s kind of the basis of coaching.”
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