In what will likely be the last time he speaks to the media before the end of the season, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores answered questions on Tuesday after recently being placed directly in the center of the NFL offseason rumor mill.
At one point, Flores, whose contract with the Vikings expires after the 2025 campaign, was asked, point-blank, if he wants to return to Minnesota for another season. In response, he said just about everything he could without just coming out and saying "yes."
"I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with KO. He's been fantastic to me. I think the Wilfs are some of the best owners in the league. I love these players, the coaching staff. And like I said, [Minnesota] has shown me a lot of love and I show it right back. So I don't know how much more there is to it.
I mean, if everything lines up and it fits, you know, from a football standpoint, it fits. I think there's always a, let's call it a business part of this. The football all lines up and we'll just see where it all goes."
Brian Flores loves working for the Minnesota Vikings, but not enough to commit to them for 2026
It would have been very, very easy for Flores to respond to the question about returning to the Vikings with a simple "yes." But that's not what he did.
Instead, he provided an answer that will allow the speculation about his future in Minnesota to continue.
To be fair to Flores, he's essentially going to be a free-agent after the end of the 2025 season, so if he's looking to cash-in, it wouldn't really benefit him to come out and say that he wants to remain with the Vikings and has no interest in joining another team.
It's a negotiating tactic, and it's not like his current position is something that's common for assistant coaches in the NFL, so it's hard to blame him for trying to take advantage of an opportunity that might never happen again in his coaching career.
The good news is that it doesn't seem like there's any sign of Flores having a bad relationship with Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell or any other member of the franchise. If he takes his elite defensive mind elsewhere in the upcoming offseason, it will be because he's been offered an opportunity that he believes is better than returning to the Vikings.