Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores is prepared to adapt his defense to any setting, which should encourage fans after the previous era.
Get ready, Minnesota Vikings fans. A new era is underway defensively, and it’s shrouded in mystery.
Following an impressive season that ended in playoff embarrassment at the hands of the New York Giants, where Minnesota’s defense surrendered 300+ passing yards and 78 wide-open rushing yards to QB Daniel Freaking Jones, incumbent defensive coordinator Ed Donatell was summarily dismissed.
In his place, the Vikings shot for the stars and imported Brian Flores, former spitfire head coach of the Miami Dolphins and defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick in New England.
Flores is a powerhouse defensive caretaker, and he learned plenty about both scheming and unpredictability from his previous mentor with the Patriots.
When grilled this week about his plans for the upcoming Vikings season, Flores declined to reveal a base scheme, insinuating instead that he’ll be relying on a defensive hybrid he’ll be able to manipulate, depending on the opponent. That means this team is about to value versatility above all else in free agency and the draft.
Question to new Vikings DC Brian Flores: “4-3 or 3-4?”
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) February 15, 2023
His answer: “Who are we playing?”
Vikings fans will love DC Brian Flores’ ability to adjust
Flores’ most recent role, after he exited Miami in a shroud of controversy — none of which was created by him, to say the least — was as an overqualified defensive assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers, yet another unit that was able to overachieve last season.
Once he gets his preferred personnel in place, there’s a good chance he’ll be able to lay down roots in Minnesota for quite a while.
Needless to say, after all the open space of the Donatell Era, fans were thrilled by Flores’ declaration that he planned to create an “unsolvable” defense that’ll shift its mentality week over week.
I like that response. Sounds like a coach in the AFC that has about 6 Superbowls.
— Sergeant Martin (@SgtpineappleMN) February 15, 2023
— Mitch Boisel (@mitchboisel) February 15, 2023
— Schuyler Vaicius (@S_Vaicius) February 16, 2023
When camp opens for the Vikings this summer, expect a few familiar Flores associates to follow him to his new-look defense — potentially safety Terrell Edmunds and CB Jonathan Jones.
The more familiarity, the better, considering there’s going to be a lot to learn for the incumbents.