J.J. McCarthy is the Ultimate Beneficiary of the Flores Extension
The Minnesota Vikings actually got it done with Brian Flores. Well, at least kind of.
Barring Flores taking a head coaching job elsewhere in the NFL, Flores will be returning to J.J. McCarthy’s Minnesota Vikings in 2026. His two most likely options were the Ravens and the Steelers. Fortunately for the Vikings, that already-short list of options for Flores was singled down to just Pittsburgh. The Ravens announced they were making former Chargers offensive coordinator Jesse Minter their head coach on Thursday night.
In more good news regarding the situation for Minnesota, Flores has dropped in odds to become the head coach in the Steel City. Per Jaime Eisner of BetOnline, Flores has dropped to fifth in the odds to become the next head coach of the Steelers, with a line of +1200 or 12-to-1. Coaches in front of him consist of Chris Shula, Nathan Scheelhaase, Mike McCarthy, and Sean McDermott.
Flores Looks Likely to Return to Minnesota
So then, it seems likely that Flores will in fact be returning to the Twin Cities. Was there internal turmoil between Flores and the Vikings? Do teams still want to steer clear of making someone currently in a lawsuit against the NFL their lead man? We may never get clear answers. This is obviously great news for the Vikings organization and fan base as a whole, but it may be better for no one else than J.J. McCarthy.
Everyone has talked more than enough about the early struggles of J.J. McCarthy. While it is an issue in itself, at the end of the day, the kid has only played 10 out of a possible 39 total games, including playoffs. It’s not ideal, but it is reality. If he does get the starting job in 2026, he wouldn’t have played a full NFL season’s worth of games until Week 7 or 8. And, yes, I should mention that’s if he stays healthy. No, I don’t have complete confidence in that.
J.J. McCarthy, the Ultimate Beneficiary of the Return of Brian Flores
Now, why is a Flores return most beneficial for McCarthy? It’s quite simple. McCarthy has proven that in order to win games with him (or quarterbacks on his level) at the helm, Minnesota’s defense has to make multiple plays. Defenses need to do that for the most part for most games for all teams, so I understand this is kind of a “duh” of a statement, which also reflects that McCarthy has still been inconsistent in his limited action so far.
Obviously, the entire Vikings organization benefits greatly from the return of Brian Flores. What the Vikings can’t do is feel like they can just rock out again with a duct-taped-together cornerback room with a high-dollar Byron Murphy Jr. and a couple of CB3’s at best fighting for the CB2 spot. Maybe Rodgers was CB2 for the 2025 season, but that doesn’t mean he was truthfully the second-best corner on the roster. That arguably was Fabian Moreau.
With the retaining of Flores means the continued collaboration with him to draft defensive talent. Minnesota has been “ok” at that, with multiple late-round or UDFA acquisitions like Levi Drake Rodriguez and Jalen Redmond proving worth their price by capital, at least so far. An eye will also, of course, stay on 2024 first-round selection Dallas Turner.
