The Detroit Lions are entering a pivotal offseason where they will need to find a better answer at offensive coordinator after the John Morton experiment was a failure this season.
However, the Lions are not the only team within the NFC North that could see some coordinator movement this offseason. The Minnesota Vikings, who split the two-game season series with the Detroit Lions, could see defensive coordinator Brian Flores land a head coaching job.
For Dan Campbell and Lions fans, they’d love to see Flores out of the division, especially after what his defense did to Detroit in their final matchup on Christmas, racking up eight QB hits, five sacks, and recording two interceptions on Jared Goff.
Where does Flores go? No one exactly knows, but there’s a chance now the Vikings' defensive coordinator could leave the NFC entirely and head to the AFC North.
On Tuesday, NFL insider Jordan Schultz mentioned he would not be surprised if Flores “gets a real look” by the Steelers, who are in the market for a head coach after Mike Tomlin stepped down.
Schultz adds that a high-level executive told him, “That makes too much sense.” Flores was with the Steelers in 2022 as their linebackers coach/senior defensive assistant after he spent three years as the Miami Dolphins head coach.
Vikings DC Brian Flores Floated as Potential HC Option for Steelers
The Steelers would be a good landing spot for Flores as he’s a defensive-minded coach who has already been in the pressure cooker as a head coach.
Pittsburgh is traditionally known for its defense being a staple of its teams over the years. Who better to continue that tradition than with Flores, who spent a year in the Steel City and knows the organization well.
If you’re the Lions, you are rooting for the Vikings to lose Flores to a head coaching gig because it will force them to spend time finding someone to replace him. This season, Minnesota had one of the better defenses in the league.
The Vikings were ranked fourth in sacks (49), second in passing yards allowed (158.5), seventh in scoring defense (19.6 points per game), but 21st in rushing yards allowed (124.1).
Now, could Minnesota replicate those numbers sans Flores next season? It’s possible with the same players.
However, it could not happen. This season, we saw this Lions’ offense go through their own set of struggles without Ben Johnson despite having the same personnel.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how everything plays out for the Vikings and Flores, who could find himself back in the head coaching lane very soon.