Patriots May Be Zeroing in on New Head Coach and It’s Not Brian Flores

NFL: Super Bowl LIII-New England Patriots vs Los Angeles Rams
Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Wilf family, along with everyone else at TCO Performance Center are keeping their fingers crossed this week hoping Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores does not receive a head coaching offer that he finds worthy of pursuing.

Related: Seems Unlikely Brian Flores Finds Head Coaching Job This Offseason

Their biggest concerns are on the East Coast in the Boston area, where Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots mutually agreed to part ways earlier on Thursday. There are two jobs that the Vikings know Flores would probably leave for. New England and Pittsburgh.

So this morning, when ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano named Flores as a possible replacement to take over for Belichick in New England, I’m sure there were some shoulders that slumped a little bit around the Vikings Eagan headquarters.

Why Brian Flores to the Patriots makes sense

Flores to New England makes a lot of sense, which is why he’s been a listed as a logical candidate since rumors started floating that Patriots owner Robert Craft might be kicking Belichick to the curb.

Why does the Vikings DC make sense in New England? Because he got his start in the NFL out East with the Pats, where he coached offense, defense and special teams over the course of nearly 1.5 decades. Flores joined the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2004.

By 2008, he was a coaching assistant, where he first crossed paths with Kevin O’Connell, a Patriots quarterback at the time. Before he left town, Flores spent eight total seasons (2011-18) under Bill Belichick, seven (2012-18) as a position coach.

Related: 2024 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Roundup

The Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship game in all seven seasons with Flores as a position coach and won three of the club’s four Super Bowl Appearances. In 2018, Flores got his first chance to call plays on defense. New England won Super Bowl LIII that season.

Not only does Brian Flores have a lot of experience with the Patriots, but he also played four years of linebacker at Boston College, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in administrative studies.

Looks like Pats might already have their guy

But according to a report tonight from Ian Rapoport, not only are the Patriots already “strongly considering” someone else from Dan Graziano’s list for their open head coaching job, but it seems as if he’s already being coronated as some sort of succession plan that was already in place and communicated with the NFL.

I’m not exactly sure how this would all work but I sure hope this is what happens. Because the Minnesota Vikings’ chances at winning the NFC North are closely tied to Brian Flores coming back for the 2024 season. Probably 2nd to only Kirk Cousins.

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