When Brian Flores filed a landmark lawsuit last year against the NFL and multiple teams for decades of racial discrimination, he surely knew he may have been sacrificing his coaching career.
He didn’t.
Last year, the Steelers made a space for him on the defensive side of the ball, recognizing his value as an instructor, motivator, and leader. This year, the Vikings hired Flores to run the team’s entire defense.
The Vikings have officially announced the arrival of Flores.
The gestures from both Pittsburgh and Minnesota cut against the natural inclination, wrong as it would be, to shun someone who dared to challenge Big Shield. And Flores remained in the mix to be the next head coach of the Cardinals; either he knew he wasn’t getting the job or he decided he didn’t want it.
Or maybe he decided to take the bird in the hand in Minnesota, in lieu of waiting to see whether the Cardinals would hire him. This way, he takes the next step toward becoming a head coach again.
It won’t be easy. The Minnesota defense was not good in 2022. Despite the team’s 13-4 record, they allowed more points than they scored.
Flores parlayed his work with the New England defense into the head-coaching job in Miami. In his first season as the defensive play-caller, the Patriots won Super Bowl LIII, limiting the high-powered Rams offense to three points.