Desperate for aggression, Brian Flores would be a great hire for Vikings

If hired as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, Brian Flores would bring some much-needed aggression to a unit that was soft in 2022.

Of the three candidates the Minnesota Vikings have requested to interview for their defensive coordinator opening so far, Brian Flores stands out as the most intriguing possibility.

Back in 2019, as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Flores shared some thoughts about his approach to the sport of football, which is much different than the philosophy of the defensive coordinator the Vikings just fired, Ed Donatell.

"“To me, if you want to win games in this league, you’ve got to be aggressive. That’s never going to change for me. That’s my style. I’m not going to play conservative. That’s always been kind of my ‘M.O.,’ so that’s not going to change.”"

Aggressive approach by Brian Flores would be refreshing for Minnesota Vikings defense

This season, Minnesota’s defense was one of the least aggressive units in the entire NFL. The Vikings had the ninth-lowest blitz rate in the league during the 2022 campaign, as they only sent an extra pass rusher on 18.9 percent of their defensive play-calls.

Compare this to the defenses that Flores was in control of during his three seasons with the Dolphins, and there is a glaring difference.

In 2019, Miami had a blitz rate of 31.6 percent, but then it increased even more in 2020 to 40.8 percent, and then the defense finished with a 39.6 percent blitz rate in Flores’ final year with the team in 2021.

His approach to football is just so dramatically different than what Minnesota just experienced during the entire 2022 season with Donatell leading the defense.

Flores’ aggressive scheme would also seem to be a good fit for a Vikings team that plays in an indoor stadium. A deafening crowd combined with a Minnesota defense constantly blitzing would potentially make life miserable for opposing offenses.