Former Vikings Coach Beefing With Brian Flores Reveals Himself

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Mike Pettine : NFC Wild Card Round-Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Brian Flores is down to one final head coaching opportunity (Steelers), before he’s officially forced into returning as Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator for a fourth consecutive season.

Earlier this week, Flores signed an extension to return as Vikings DC. That means, barring a head coaching offer, he’ll be back in 2026. And according to Alec Lewis (The Athletic) on KFAN Radio Friday morning, it’s extremely unlikely Flores lands the job out in Pittsburgh.

Thus, in all likelihood, B-Flo will be back at TCO Performance Center next week, working with Vikings scouts and defensive coaches to tweak one of the last year’s top NFL defenses for another run at the playoffs in 2026.

MOST of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff returning in 2026

Other than the possible departure of defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, who remains a top candidate for multiple defensive coordinator jobs, it doesn’t look like there will be much shuffling of the MN Vikings coaching staff this offseason.

On offense, the MN Vikings appear primed to bring back most of O’Connell’s coaching staff, after the dismissal of o-line coach Kris Kuper and retirement of assistant head coach, Mike Pettine, both of whom came to the Vikings with KOC in 2022.

Mike Pettine : NFC Wild Card Round-Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When the news of Pettine’s retirement originally broke, there were many of us out there who wondered out loud if his exit was, in part, to make room for a new Brian Flores job title in 2026.

It’s worth noting that B-Flo’s announcement did not include any mention of assistant head coach. However, we found out on Friday that, in fact, Pettine’s exit 100% had to do with Flores returning.

Former Vikings assistant coach is no fan of Brian Flores

Mike Pettine, a former NFL head coach, arrived in the Twin Cities with Kevin O’Connell in 2022, where his duties as assistant head coach were mostly on defense. When defensive coordinator Ed Donatell was fired after one season, Pettine remained on staff helping out Brian Flores.

Apparently, that was NOT a happy union. This week, Mike Pettine made an appearance on The Cleveland Sports Show, where he was asked a question about Brian Flores and what he’s like to coach with.

“Uhhh, probably not many that I would prefer to share. I mean, we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. That’s why I spent this past year on offense. I was there in 2023 and 2024 on defense. So, I’ll take the high road on that one.”

Mike Pettine when asked about his thoughts on Brian Flores (video above)

Pettine told the host that he wanted to “take the high-road” by refusing to answer the question. Of course, by “not answering”, he told us everything we needed to know.

But Mike didn’t stop there, he took it a step further and revealed that, while Wikipedia claims Pettine coached linebackers for the MN Vikings in both 2024 and 2025, it turns out he didn’t work with the defense at all (see below).

Instead, according to Pettine, he coached on the Vikings offense last season. If true (and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t), 2025 would have been the first time in Mike Pettine’s 20+ year NFL coaching career that he’s ever been an offensive assistant.

All those rumors over the past year about a potential “schism” in the Vikings locker room? I think we just found it.

Now that we can assume Minnesota’s defensive coordinator will be back next season, it’s a lot easier to project the Vikings’ plan, not just on that side of the football, but as a team.

MN Vikings running it back on field in 2026 too?

Outside of Pettine, Kuper and possibly Jones leaving, it’s clear the Minnesota Vikings plan to run things back next season, at least for the most part. That extends to the roster, too.

Yes, they are going to bring in a better quarterback to compete with JJ McCarthy at camp. We can also expect them to lose WR Jalen Nailor to free agency and Harrison Smith to retirement. Hell, maybe Jordan Addison even gets traded.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Legend Stands Up for “Nine”

Have we seen TJ Hockenson play his last snap in purple and gold? That’s plausible too, along with a few other veterans who could be wearing different uniforms next season.

But this idea that the MN Vikings front office will have to chop off half of the roster, just to shake some pennies loose inside the salary cap, is a myth, something I expect local media to figure out and cover heavily over the next few weeks.

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