As the Minnesota Vikings transition to the offseason, there are two big questions on their docket. The first, in terms of when it will be resolved, is the future of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He does not have a contract for next season, and he is an automatic candidate for head coaching openings as that carousel starts to spin.
If he doesn't get a head coaching job this year, any team with a defensive coordinator opening (or a willingness to create one) should have interest in making Flores an offer he can't refuse to come and run their defense rather than stay with the Vikings.
Almost every year, there is a surprise firing of an NFL head coach. While it was framed more like a mutual parting of ways, John Harbaugh will no longer be the Baltimore Ravens' head coach after 18 seasons.
Harbaugh now arguably becomes the top available head coaching candidate. That naturally impacts all the other candidates for the current openings and perhaps will have teams who have a head coach reevaluating their situations.
Baltimore Ravens emerge as new option for Brian Flores if he wants to leave the Minnesota Vikings
The domino effect of Harbaugh's departure from Baltimore is sure to be wide, as he bumps other head coaching candidates down a peg in the pecking order for multiple teams looking to make a hire.
Maybe some of those candidates will more strongly entertain the option of being a coordinator instead. In Flores' case, he could cast a harder gaze toward his potential options to be a defensive coordinator outside of Minnesota.
But on the other hand, there is now a new head coaching job available, and there's a case for it being the best one out there.
Following the news of Harbaugh's firing on Tuesday, ESPN's Mina Kimes quickly endorsed Flores for the Ravens' job opening.
"The Ravens instantly become the most appealing HC job in football.
I would *strongly* consider Brian Flores if I were them."
The Ravens have had three head coaches in their 30-season history to this point, with Harbaugh lasting 18 seasons and his predecessor Brian Billick lasting nine seasons,
To put that in a bit of purple perspective, Billick was the Vikings' offensive coordinator in 1998, he took the Ravens' head coaching job in 1999, and he was there through the 2007 season before Harbaugh replaced him.
So there's rare job security in Baltimore, with stable ownership and organizational structure to set a new head coach up for success.
If he is inclined to leave the Vikings, there are already multiple options Flores could have on his plate. The addition of the Ravens to the coaching carousel is lined up to give him more potential options, up to and possibly including the head coaching job there.