Vikings Coach Talks About Secret to Brian Flores’ Scheme
Is the key that it’s not really a scheme? Or, at least, not one in a traditional sense?
Vikings coach Marcus Dixon is now in charge of the defensive line. While chatting with the media, Dixon had plenty of good things to say about his new boss, defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Dixon explained that the scheme is unique insofar as it resists easy characterizations while pointing toward an ingredient that helps make the defense so potent.
Vikings Coach Talks Flores Scheme and Confusion
During the interview for the job in Minnesota, Marcus Dixon began to realize that things would operate a bit differently.
“It’s funny, when I interviewed with [Flores],” Dixon explains, “I was kind of asking like, ‘What’s the scheme? How do I fit?’ And it was kind of like, ‘Uhh, not really a scheme.’ So it’s very fun to be a part of. It helps you and makes you have to think outside the box.”
Earlier in his answer, Dixon even described what he identified as being the core element of Flores’ defense.
“I think for the philosophy, it’s making sure we try to confuse the offense as much as possible. Keep the offense on their heels as much as possible,” Dixon notes.
And the thoughts make sense. Flores comes across as someone who is constantly searching for new ideas and approaches (something Dixon discusses later on). At no point has he seemed like someone who is complacent or content to simply fall back on what the standard approach is. Confusion is a vital ingredient of his defense, so much so that it even muddies how to define his scheme.
In fact, Mike Pettine — the Vikings’ assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach — offered a similar assessment of the Flores defense not too long ago.
“Flo has never been one,” Pettine explains, “where you just kind of line up. And here we’re 4-3, and here’s our 4 down linemen and it’s easy to identify.” Pettine then describes how “the ability to create confusion for offenses to me is critical.”
Of course, anyone who watched last year’s Vikings could likely come up with a similar answer. But it’s nevertheless notable when a pair of Vikings coaches are arriving at a similar point in separate press conferences. The scheme is hard to define and confusion is central to what Flores is looking to create.
The Vikings finished the 2023 season as the 13th-best defense by allowing an average of 21.3 points against per game. Another year of the Flores schematic confusion alongside some better personnel should lead to an even better result in 2024.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.