Miami Dolphins fans can be disgusted all they want with Brian Flores, but as the current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, he has been showing why he will likely be a head coaching candidate again in 2025. In the NFL, it takes a lot to burn bridges.
The Vikings' defense is one of the more physical and dominant units in the NFL this season. That is thanks to the coaching of Flores who has Minnesota's players performing very well.
Recently, Flores spoke with ESPN's Adam Schefter and said he "Would love to be a head coach again" but prefaced that it would have to be the right decision. The fact that his name is being mentioned at all three years after his viral smackdown of the Dolphins organization is impressive alone.
Following his dismissal as Miami's head coach in 2022, Flores went public with allegations of cheating and being told by the Dolphins to "tank" the season in 2019 for a better draft pick. He alleged that his relationship with Miami also soured in that season when he refused to follow their requests to lose on purpose.
Brian Flores says tenure with Miami Dolphins was "a great experience"
In addition to Flores revealing that he would still like to become a head coach again in the NFL, he also spoke with Schefter about his tenure with the Dolphins.
"I think it was a great experience for me and my family. There's so much that I learned during my time that's made me a much, much better coach today better in a lot of areas.
...It wasn't all negative. Obviously, some things that I would've done better, I thought it was a great experience. I've really come out of it in a positive way excited about where I am now. I really learned a lot from it."
Not one person believes Flores enjoyed his time with Miami, and the way it ended was not a learning experience unless it was to keep things internal and not let his emotions make his decisions for him.
After his departure, Flores was openly critical of the Dolphins organization and also brought other teams into the mix claiming his interviews were nothing more than tactics to satisfy the NFL's "Rooney Rule."
Many believed that Flores would find it hard to return to the NFL after getting fired by Miami. But the Vikings didn't care, and they brought him to Minnesota a year after he spent the 2022 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dolphins fans do not have high opinions of Flores, whose faults and failures were more than simply a win/loss record, as many were turned off by his treatment of multiple Miami players, specifically quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Will Flores get another shot at a head coaching job in the NFL? He may say it needs to be the right fit for him and his family, but it will need to be a fit for another team as well.