Brian Flores labeled 'buzziest' coordinator in the league

The Vikings have forced six turnovers and held opponents to 10 points per game.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores at an offseason practice. / Images Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

In his second season with the team, Brian Flores has the Vikings defense flying this season. Now, he's being talked about as one of the "buzziest" names in the potential head-coaching pool.

ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote Wednesday that while Flores' situation is complicated due to his ongoing lawsuit against the league, he remains a coordinator to watch for a potential head-coach opening this coming offseason.

"On performance alone, he's unassailable," Graziano wrote. "The Vikings have allowed a total of 30 points this season to the Giants, 49ers and Texans, and Flores is drawing raves for the way he disguises pressures and confuses quarterbacks. It started last season in Minnesota, but the players are executing it at a much higher level in Year 2 of the system."

"The question with Flores as a head-coaching candidate is, of course, that he still has a pending lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination in the league's hiring practices," he continued.

Flores has missed out on head-coaching opportunities in recent years due to the lawsuit he filed against the league in February 2022. He has alleged that the NFL, New York Giants and Denver Broncos committed racial discrimination. Since filing the suit, Flores has essentially been blackballed out of head-coaching opportunities, failing to land even one interview last offseason despite successfully turning around the Vikings defense in 2023.

In his second season as Vikings defensive coordinator, Flores' defense has allowed just 10 points per game, second lowest in the league, while forcing six turnovers (third in the league) through three games. Minnesota's defense has successfully frustrated and stifled Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud, two of the best up-and-coming, young quarterbacks in the league.

"The Vikings' defense could be the reincarnation of the 1985 Bears and it would still be hard to imagine an owner hiring a head coach who's in the middle of suing the league," Graziano wrote.