Sean Payton is Interviewing the Same Coaches as the Vikings
Ted Schwerzler
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It wasn’t long ago that Sean Payton was the head coach for the New Orleans Saints. The Minnesota Vikings have had a rivalry of sorts with Payton, and now he’s starting things out again as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Depending on how you look at the reports, it could be argued that Sean Payton was not the Broncos first choice. In replacing Nathaniel Hackett – a former Green Bay Packers coach that flopped – Denver needed a presence to revive Russell Wilson. After mortgaging their future for the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback, the Broncos continued to do as much in trading a first-round and second-round pick for Payton.
Now, as Payton looks to complete his staff, he’s targeting a defensive coordinator squarely on the Vikings radar.
Minnesota has interviewed the former Miami Dolphins head coach for their vacant defensive coordinator position. Following the struggles of the Ed Donatell defense, Minnesota has no choice but to change course. Kevin O’Connell was brought in to push more of an offensive-minded approach, but even a 13-win season couldn’t mask the ineptitude when it came to stopping the opposition.
Flores is viewed as one of the hottest commodities on the coordinator circuit. He hasn’t been hired yet as he also has his hat in the ring for the Arizona HC opening.
Making matters even worse is that Sean Desai has, according to Mike Klis, taken himself out of the running for the Minnesota opening, instead hoping to secure the DC spot in Denver.
For the Vikings, their approach has been multifaceted, and there are still a couple of very capable names available. Among them is Broncos defensive coordinator Ejio Evero. Evero took over the Broncos defense this season following the departure of Donatell. Although it looks like Donatell may have simply been a product of Vic Fangio, Evero’s defense stood on its own this season.
If the Broncos and Sean Payton do decide that Evero is not worth keeping around, the Vikings could pivot and pounce. Both Evero and Flores have been among their top choices, and the teams could provide mutual clarity for one another sooner rather than later.
It would be nice if the Vikings could proceed without Sean Payton causing problems, but it probably isn’t in the cards. Either way, Minnesota must get this defensive hire right.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.