Brian Flores is prepared to once again pursue a head coaching job while simultaneously suing the NFL and several teams regarding his previous HC stay and some of his interviews. The Vikings’ defensive success may allow him to land a second-chance role before his discrimination lawsuit wraps, as interesting as that would be.
While the Bears may well have another NFC North candidate higher on their preference list, Flores joins Lions OC Ben Johnson among candidates Chicago is studying. The Bears are indeed looking into Flores, per SI.com’s Albert Breer, with connections involving both GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren noteworthy here.
[RELATED: Ben Johnson “Intrigued” By Bears’ HC Post?]
Poles and Flores played together at Boston College in 2003; the latter joined the Patriots as a scout a year later while the former’s college career continued. Poles went into the front office ranks after his college run. The two have never worked together, but that overlap would make for an interesting reference — especially considering Johnson has been quite choosey while on HC carousels. Warren has also vetted Flores with former Vikings contacts, as the current Bears president was on Minnesota’s staff for 15 years previously. Thus far, per Breer, that vetting effort has generated “strong reviews” for the bounce-back coordinator.
Flores, 43, has said he wants to be a head coach again. Minnesota’s success on defense this season may yield such an opportunity, but his background also may work against him. Although the Bears have been connected to seeking a “leader of men”-type HC, Breer now adds candidates who do not have a background coaching quarterbacks would need a clear and sustainable plan for Caleb Williams‘ development. This could work against Flores, who will undoubtedly need to explain what happened during Tua Tagovailoa‘s first two Dolphins seasons. The current Miami starter was not complimentary of Flores’ hard-edged coaching style when asked earlier this year. Tagovailoa also took major steps forward after Flores’ ouster.
Leading the Vikings to a fourth-place ranking in scoring defense during their 14-2 season, Flores is likely to book multiple interviews on the 2025 HC carousel. He met with the Cardinals in 2023 and with the Bears, Giants, Saints and Texans in 2022. Flores did not meet about a head coaching gig this year, but Minnesota’s success figures to change that. He has come up as a candidate far more frequently than OC Wes Phillips, and the connection to Poles — who is running Chicago’s HC search — may be important.
For anyone considering the Bears, however, it appears Warren’s presence is a sticking point. Top HC candidates are curious about Warren’s role with the team, Breer adds. It was initially reported the president — hired in January 2023 after a role as Big Ten commissioner — would run the business side, but it has become clear this gig has brought football-ops responsibilities. Warren has offered key input regarding football matters, including a recent comment indicating the Bears job would be the most coveted of 2025’s openings.
Poles reports to Warren, and the team president is expected to be heavily involved in this HC search — even if the GM is running it. This power structure, which canned Matt Eberflus (the team’s first in-season HC firing) while letting him speak to the media following a disastrous Thanksgiving loss, will be something HC candidates take into consideration. Warren took players’ input for an extensive period following the loss in Detroit and has held an “active role” on the football side since coming to Chicago.
Thomas Brown seeing his interim tag removed would be borderline shocking based on how the post-Eberflus period has gone, but Breer notes Bears brass does have sympathy for the challenge this situation has brought. With Williams’ development the central issue for Chicago, it would stand to reason the team will start over on offense. Johnson should be expected to meet with the Bears, Breer adds, but it does not seem the third-year Lions play caller is a lock to take that job if offered. He will be selective once again, keeping the door wide open for other Bears HC candidates.
Oh Dear!
If they interview Flores and don’t hire him, prepare for a lawsuit screaming racism.
How dare you! That’s RACIST
McCasket is one of the old guard owners. At this point, there’s no way he hires Flores.
I have no words. Is Chicago trying to out-Jets the Jets? Lol.
They just took Williams. They told the world that was their guy. They put pieces in around him. Now they’re interested in a defensive coach for their HC vacancy that already tried everything in his power to ruin a young QB before?!
You can’t make this up.
Tua’s performance after Flores left has alot more to do with the Dolphins hiring one of the top offensive minds in the game from one of the most influential coaching trees in the game right now, the Shannahan tree..
The comments don’t really bode all that well for Flores, but I don’t think it was anything he can’t put behind him and move past. Even after everything was said, basically it was just the fact that he was too hard on Tua and didn’t motivate him positively.
As long as Flores can articulate the lessons he’s learned from that, then I wouldn’t see why a team wouldn’t give him a shot to lead their franchise. That is especially if you’re pairing him with an solid offensive mind. In my opinion, his offensive coordinator hire is what is likely going to play one of the largest roles in whether or not Flores is able to have any sustainable success..
Yeah, seems like he’s learned some lessons about empowering players. I imagine working with Tomlin and then O’Connell since his Miami days can’t have hurt his growth.
Tua is not really significantly better now. His completion % is slightly better. It has gone up playing for an offensive coach. He is still an untrustworthy QB. No fault of his own he is also prone to concussions. Last year playing his only full season to date with Hill and Waddle he only had 29 TDs and still threw 14 INTs. Not eye popping TDs when throwing for over 4000 yards. Darnold has more TDs (35) and less INTs (12) this year with less attempts. While possible unlikely Darnold throws three INTs next week.
Dolphins fired Flores on 1/10/22.
Dolphins traded for Hill on 3/23/22.
I might give more credit to the latter than blame to the former.
Especially since he tried to hire McDaniel the year before he got fired and is probably the only reason he got on the Dolphins radar. So at least he recognized his shortcomings.
Coaching tree bull….didn’t help him in Miami….”coaching trees” are a way overplayed phrase….every HC creates their own offensive/defensive identities taking bits and pieces of what they were directly exposed to while working directly for someone else….forget about the Shanahan coaching tree….isnt helping the son in SF and certainly didn’t help Pops in DC….that gig on his resume it ain’t gonna help him get the Chicago job…..
He’s been one of the best coordinators in football this year. I would be looking offensive mind in Chicago, but Flores deserves looks this offseason.
Given the questions surrounding Flores’ connectability with players, and the fact that this only a single year of success in Minnesota, I’d personally like to see more stability from Flores in guiding a good defense long term before granting him a second shot if it were me. Experience as a head coach is only positive if it’s good experience.
If the team wants a defensive coach, I’d rather see them take a chance on a new candidate than one with as many leadership questions as Flores. We can rightfully debate how much of Tua’s improvement is due to Flores’ departure, but the questions still are a concern regardless. Just my impression as a non-Bears fan.
I’m a little surprised Vrabel’s name hasn’t been more prominently connected.
I would rather see an established guy like Vrabel get the Bears job as someone who has been an established NFL head coach before and is not over 70 so he should be able to build a solid foundation and oversee it for some time. Also, Flores has a rep, deserved or not, about how he apparently views an offense or the players on it.
If the Bears got Johnson I obviously hope he pans out, however, the Bears have had too many recent coaches that were coordinator types previously who could not be NFL head coaches.
Flores also did strong work last year, though that was a lot more making chicken salad out of chicken $&@%. Even this year he’s working wonders with a very dicey cornerback group, including losing a rookie starter to a tragic death.
Flores does deserve HC looks. But suing your employer is never a good thing; right, wrong, or indifferent. With BJ, Vrabel, Carroll, Ron Rivera out there right now, I don’t think Flores gets hired ahead of any of them. MINN was smart to pick him up.
Crazy to put him behind Rivera and Carroll in pecking order.
Not when you sue your employer and upset your employees. You won’t be first in line to get promoted.
No one said he’s first in line. He already hasn’t been. He hasn’t sniffed a head coach job since he led his team to two straight winning seasons last time he was a head coach. Now he’s one of the best coordinators in football and belongs in the conversation of candidates. He won’t be ahead of Johnson or Vrabel, but he belongs ahead of 73 year old Carroll and a guy in Rivera whose second and most recent tenure went the way it did.
Flores’ resume doesn’t even come close to Carroll. Rivera is an experienced HC who has a good reputation in league circles. I could definitely see both of them getting hired before Flores. Rivera and Carroll didn’t sue their employers…big X factor.
Carroll is 73. Who wants to start over with the oldest coach in football? Rivera is a respected man, but Washington went poorly.
Yep, Carroll is old. But he’s a players coach. He also has been around football long enough to know technique and teach in multiple facets of the game. He may still have some years left in him. Bruce Arians coached with some helth problems and won a SB. Rivera was given a horrible OL in WASH and Carson Wentz with two bad ankles. Also had that idiot owner. I like Flores, don’t get me wrong. But I think he needs another season or two as DC and let the dust settle on the lawsuits.
Arians is younger than Carroll and he’s been retired for three years. I think if a septuagenarian coach was going to get a head coach job, Belichick wouldn’t have gone to college. As for Rivera, he’s a defense first coach who ran out some terrible defense in Washington. I can’t see anyone doing it.
There was an article today (on another site) about BB explaining why he went to the NCAA. Because of NFL owners, their families, GMs, staff, etc. being pains in the behind. I could see that. Also I read many times that BB would teach technique many NFL players (from other teams) didn’t know, and he would watch them from all over the practice field and call them out to correct them. That’s because he’s been around football his entire life. That’s what you get from a seasoned NFL HC, and not from the hot commodity coordinators. That’s why I’d still consider Carroll.
I’m with you on Belichick and thin some college players will be lucky to have him. Teaching is an under-appreciated part of coaching. I just think it’s hard to start with a coach so old. What’s the best case scenario of starting fresh with a 73 year old?
A big part of having success in the NFL is having a great staff to work with. See Spags with Andy Reid or the 1994 Green Bay Packers. Jim H and Sean P surely had no problem getting their handpicked staffs together. Who wouldn’t want to work with them if you want to advance your career?
Carroll should be able to assemble a decent staff, he’s been around long enough to attract talent. Best case scenario is you get 3-4 years of stability and no learning on the job, or making mistakes, which cost you games. Not sure if Flores could match that anytime soon.
I’m not betting my organization’s future on a 73 year old. And Chicago just fired his last OC.
I didn’t take you as one for age discrimination lol
That and what culture is going to be sustained by a 73 year old coach, regardless of how ‘young at heart’ he may be.. I just hear Carroll’s name and think LaRussa 2.0 in that he would be more apt to just sucker and org to pay him to kill time.
I don’t know if I’m as high on him, though. It’s still only really one year of good work. Last year might have been good for what it was, but that still is sort of tentative. What we need to see from Flores is stability, in my opinion. He doesn’t have as much benefit of the doubt as these other candidates.
Two years of impressive coordinator work doesn’t erase three plus years of mediocre coaching and the serious character concerns that arose from it. The lawsuit is an entirely separate matter. I just don’t think that a year of decent compensation and a year of good results in Minnesota is enough to make me feel completely comfortable. After all, we’d expect the defense to be good. The problem is that he’s going to have to head up two other phases, plus handling personnel. That’s where the questions still lie, and while Flores has experience, it’s not exactly clean experience.
Of course, he may have learned from his past mistakes, but it’s just his word at this point. If it turns out that he does the same stuff now, you’d have to look back and say, “Well, we had evidence then.” Second chance coaches aren’t always a bad idea, but when the concerns are with character more than results, the questions are harder to overlook.
He took the Dolphins from scorched earth roster teardown to two straight winning seasons and he’s had no “character” problems in his two most recent stops with teams that have good owners and GMs.
Look it’s really just this simple. The Bears do things backwards. They hired Eberlose. Then they hired Poles. Then they tried to paint it that Poles hired Eberlose. After 2 days on the job? Really? OK so now you have a coach and GM that were hired backwards. So let’s throw some manure on the fire and hire a new team President and Football operations guy. Now surprisingly you hear that Poles and Warren don’t get along. Really? That’s a surprise? So now you have a chance to right the ship. You keep Warren. That’s fine. Now Warren has to decide if he can work with Poles. As long as they don’t MAKE Warren keep Poles fine. It should be up to Warren. IF IT’S NOT, What are we doing here? What successful NFL franchise has ever hired the HC FIRST and then worked their way UP? It’s a Greek freakin tragedy. If this was the FIRST time they’ve done it, Fine. But IT’S LIKE THE FIFTH! C’MON!
The Bears are the type of organization that would only fill the gas tank half way before a long, arduous road trip without a map or GPS. With the attitude being were all fine. We’ll make it.
To answer question: Seahawks hired their previous HC before hiring the GM. Chargers hired their current HC before hiring the GM.
As a suffering Bears fan; Flores as HC and hire Josh McDaniels to run the offense? The Bears troubles begin with inept ownership.. Goes back to mid 80s when the family anointed Michael McCaskey as GM to replace the great Jwrry Vainisi who built the 85 team.
Yep. Absolutely an ownership issue. Time for this Halas clan to move on. Current majority ownership structure is daughter of Halas who has her son in the position of Chairman. The fanatics of Chicago deserve better here. Get out Halas family.
Josh MacDaniels is a good OC. But abrasive and inflexible. He hasn’t established a good reputation in the NFL either. Not exactly a guy you want if you intend to build a team culture.
Jim Finks had a hand in the 85 Bears. He was with the team through the 1983 draft. Most of the 85 players were his.
Apologies YES. I did forget Jim Finks!
The last think I care to see is another defensive minded hard coach.
I see your point.
Josh McDaniels? That’s a joke right?
The fans are also curious about Kevin Warren’s role. Ostensibly he was hired to get a new stadium built. Thus far he’s been an absolute disaster in that role–now it appears he’s running football operations. Not exactly confidence inspiring that he failed his way from a non-football role to a football role.
Modern team presidents can’t resist meddling in football operations. They are supposed to stay the business side and let the football people handle football. But they get drunk on their power.
Same thing happened in Green Bay when Ted Thompson retired. Mark Murphy, who was supposed to stay on the business side like Bob Harlan before him, could not resist injecting himself into football decisions.
Mark Murphy is absolutely a football guy.
The Bears need to burn down their culture and rebuild it from the ground up a la Dan Campbell in Detroit.
And targeting Flores suggests they might finally realize that.
If the Bears are serious about a defensive minded HC then they need to make apologies to Vic Fangio for passing him over when they chose Nagy and give him the job. Even bringing back Lovie Smith would be preferrable to Flores.
Depends
On who Flores brings with him as OC. Maybe he brings Wes Phillips. He doesnt call the plays in Minn. does he? I know he was the passing game coordinator when the Rams won the SB. But that’ll be the biggest decision. Who flores brings as OC. That will have to be a big topic during the interview. Flores can coach. We know that. I don’t care about a lawsuit. Neither do teams. Only care about winning.
It doesn’t matter who the Bears hire. They will screw it up no matter what lol
Washington should send a thank you card to the Bears for taking Williams instead of Daniels.
Hiring a Defensive Coordinator as Head Coach will not end well for the Bears and Williams won’t get an extension
Here’s my humble prediction. Note that I’m pushing this or backing it. The Bears hire Kliff Kingsbury. It only makes sense that the Bears hire a guy who was not chosen to be OC- a lesser position last off season to only hire him to be Head Coach. The Bears organization is nothing but a bunch of screw ups until proven otherwise.
I’m right there with you. He passed on being Eberflus’ OC but absolutely would jump at the chance to coach Williams while having a limited market for HC jobs, ie.e he would probably come cheap.
To expand on the Kingsbury interview last January a bit more. Not sure if Kingsbury backed out or the Bears passed. After Shane Waldron was terminated, a story came out on a couple web sites and local radio. The story was from a respected and connected football insider. The report stated that then HC Matt Eberflus was intimated by Kingsbury. Why and how was not revealed. So the gray area needs to be filled in. The Bears ultimately went with Waldron. Maybe due to the strong insights, connection and influence Kingsbury may have had on Caleb. Or maybe Poles witnessed Eberflus role over on his back and urinate like a frightened puppy.
Bears biggest problem is ownership is cheap and clueless.
They’re not cheap. But they are Clueless. If they were smart they’d keep Warren. And hire a GM. Then let the GM pick his coach. I mean that’s the way the successful teams operate. The Bears have been doing it backwards since they kept Buddy Ryan as DC and then hired Ditka to be the HC. Since then it’s been a comedy of backwards thinking of hiring people in the wrong order. Whether they keep Poles or not, They should find a GM and HC who WANT to work TOGETHER. That’s what a smart team would do.
The Bears paid Mike Glennon like he was the second coming of Tom Brady…lol. The clueless part fits though.
The Bears actually fired a guy, Rod Graves, And watched him get hired by the Cardinals. Another organization of questionable leadership. Then actually had the balls to let Graves run their draft, While employed by another team! And the other team LET HIM DO IT! Now you can ask which organization is more clueless, But I think the point is who else in the league would do that except the Bears and Cards( Except maybe the Jets)? Answer NOBODY!
Maybe they can get Lovie Smith to come back. All he did was win 10 games a year and go to the Super Bowl when he coached them.
Lovie Smith aged about as well as Ron Jeremy, but you do have a point. Perhaps Smith’s time with Chicago was aging out with the similar age related decline of his most famous playmakers, but you’d think that he at least earned the opportunity to coach his way out of that job than the alternative-which was, of course, being fired after a 10-6 season.
Arguments could be made that the game was passing him by, but it still looks bad when you consider the string of coaches that followed Smith afterward (minus the one year with Nagy).
I don’t think Flores did Tua any favors, but Miami traded for Hill which made Waddle a much bigger threat. And I recall they added 1-2 offensive lineman.
Flores would be in much better shape if he stopped suing everyone. He might even be the #1 HC target.