Vikings Rumors: Minnesota might need new defensive coordinator for 2024

With the New England Patriots parting with head coach Bill Belichick, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been suggested as his replacement.

Following the conclusion of the team's 2023 season, many have believed that Brian Flores will likely remain the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator for at least one more year.

There are now more than a handful of head-coaching jobs open around the NFL, and Flores is a worthy candidate for all of the vacancies. But many believe Flores is going to wait for an opening that represents more of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with one of the more successful franchises around the league.

Well, one of these once-in-a-lifetime jobs just became available on Thursday after the New England Patriots announced their decision to part with longtime head coach Bill Belichick.

Vikings Rumors: Brian Flores viewed as a "likely" successor to Bill Belichick in New England

It's something that has been expected after the major struggles the Patriots experienced during the 2023 season, but New England actually moving on from Belichick as their head coach is still gigantic news.

Belichick had been the head coach of the Patriots since the 2000 season, and during his tenure, he was able to help transform the team into one of the most successful franchises in the history of the NFL.

But with New England missing the playoffs in three of the last four seasons, the organization felt that they had finally reached the time to make a head-coaching change for the first time in more than two decades.

So, who will the Patriots choose to replace Belichick? There are a number of possible candidates, but ESPN's Dan Graziano recently shared that Flores is someone who will "most likely" be considered as one of the top choices to become the next New England head coach.

Flores began his coaching career in the NFL with the Patriots when he joined Belichick's staff in 2008 as a special teams assistant.

He then went on to hold a number of different coaching roles on New England's staff until he left in 2019 to become the head coach of the Dolphins.

Flores was hired by the Vikings last year following their decision to move on from Ed Donatell as their defensive coordinator after just one season.

Surprisingly, Flores had never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL until Minnesota gave him the job for the 2023 season.

Despite this, he went on to completely transform the Vikings' defense from one that ranked near the bottom of the league under Donatell to one that ranked among some of the best units in the NFL during the 2023 campaign.

Minnesota would love to have Flores back so that he can continue to improve the team's defense. But with the Patriots now having a head-coaching opening, the Vikings might need to find a new defensive coordinator for the third year in a row.