Brian Flores Earns High Ranking Among DCs Heading into 2023
One of the more important decisions that the Minnesota Vikings had to make this offseason revolved around their defensive coordinator spot. After having major struggles as a group in 2022, they decided to part ways with Ed Donatell after just one year. In the end, though there were many candidates for the job, Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings decided to bring Brian Flores aboard as their DC in 2023.
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema recently ranked his top 10 defensive coordinators across the league, and Flores earned a high ranking in the analyst’s eyes, being placed 8th on the list. Here is what Sikkema had to say of Flores ahead of his first season with the Vikings:
After spending the 2022 season as the linebackers coach in Pittsburgh, Flores will return to a featured coaching role, this time as defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings.
Before his time with the Steelers, Flores was head coach of the Dolphins. In his first season, they ranked dead last in points per game allowed (30.9). In his second season, they jumped all the way to fourth (21.1). In his final season, Miami fell to 15th, but their average stayed true at 21.9 points allowed per game. The Dolphins placed sixth in the league in expected points allowed per play in those final two seasons with Flores at the helm.
As Sikkema points out, Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins prior to taking a linebackers coach job with the Steelers in 2022. Over the course of his three seasons in Miami, Flores proved to be one of the better defensive minds in the game.
A large part of Flores’ plan of attack revolved around blitzing with young linebackers. In 2020 and 2021, the Dolphins ranked second in blitz percentage, and considering the Vikings were one of the most infrequent blitzing defenses during 2022, Flores’ Miami blitz percentage is something fans are hoping translates to Minnesota this season.
Overall, there should be hope that Flores can take what Minnesota has on defense in terms of personnel and produce a better result than what we saw in 2022.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.