The Pro Football Writers of America announced Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as the 2026 George Halas Award winner.
Flores, the 58th Halas Award winner, is the first member of the Vikings franchise to receive the honor from the PFWA.
Other 2026 finalists for the Halas Award were Lions edge Aidan Hutchinson and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
The Halas Award is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. The award is named for Halas, a charter member (1963) of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who was associated with the Chicago Bears and NFL from their inception in 1920 until his death in 1983 as an owner, manager, player and promoter. Halas won 324 games and six NFL titles in 40 seasons as a coach.
The Halas Award is one of the two oldest awards presented by the PFWA, along with the Bill Nunn Jr. Award, presented to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage. Both awards were first given in 1969.
After three seasons as the head coach of the Dolphins, Flores was fired after the 2021 season. He filed a class-action lawsuit against the NFL and three teams, alleging racial discrimination. In the midst of the lawsuit, he was hired by Pittsburgh as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach in 2022. Flores has spent the last three seasons (2023-25) as Minnesota defensive coordinator. In February 2026, a U.S. District Court ruled that Flores’ lawsuit can be tried in open court, rather than arbitration overseen by the NFL. On May 26, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal by the NFL by declining to review the lower court’s decision in the matter.
During the 2025 season, the Vikings defense ranked third in the NFL in total yards (282.6 yards per game).
When the Dolphins traded one of their best players away in wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, it led to questions about whether they’re tanking on the 2026 season and turning their attention to the future. New Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan doesn’t want to hear that.
“So understand all the R words -- retool, rebuild, refocus -- I don’t like that,” Sullivan said, via ESPN. “I think that gives the connotation of, ‘hey, look, we’re mailing it in this year.’ That’s 100% not what’s going on. We’re here to compete and play our ass off and try to win football games as we build this thing out. That’s the culture we want to be. We want people that embrace that underdog mentality.”
The Dolphins may be trying to win football games this season, but few people think they’ll win many. Their over/under win total is just 4.5, suggesting they’ll be even worse this season than they were last year, when they finished 7-10 and fired GM Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel.
Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley do have a rebuilding job ahead of them. But Sullivan insists they want to build by winning in Year One.
The Dolphins signed first-round offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor, the team announced Wednesday.
Proctor’s signing leaves only first-round cornerback Chris Johnson and fifth-round tight end Seydou Traore unsigned. The team previously signed second-round linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, third-round wide receiver Caleb Douglas, third-round tight end Will Kacmarek, third-round wide receiver Chris Bell, fourth-round defensive end Trey Moore, fourth-round safety Kyle Louis, fifth-round safety Michael Taaffe, fifth-round wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., sixth-round guard DJ Campbell and seventh-round defensive end Max Llewellyn.
The Dolphins made Proctor the 12th overall pick in April.
He played three seasons at Alabama, starting 40 games at left tackle. He helped the Crimson Tide to an SEC title in 2023 and to College Football Playoff appearances in 2023 and 2025.
Proctor was a consensus All-American and a first-team All-SEC selection in 2025. He was also named to the 2023 SEC All-Freshman team and earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2024.
Former Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier has found a new job in Detroit.
Grier has joined the Lions’ front office as a personnel executive, according to Adam Schefter.
The 56-year-old Grier had spent a decade as the Dolphins’ GM before he was fired last season, the day after a Thursday Night Football loss to the Ravens dropped the Dolphins to 2-7. In all, Grier spent 25 years with the Dolphins, rising up their scouting department before becoming GM. Before that he was a scout for the Patriots.
Grier will work for Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, who is heading into his sixth season leading the front office in Detroit.
The Dolphins took their time before starting the process of signing their 2026 draft picks, but they made up for their slow start by getting a lot of work done all at once.
They announced the signing of 10 draft picks, including second-round linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Rodriguez was a first-team All-American at Texas Tech in 2025 after posting 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions and a sack for the Red Raiders.
Miami has also signed third-round wide receiver Caleb Douglas, third-round tight end Will Kacmarek, third-round wide receiver Chris Bell, fourth-round defensive end Trey Moore, fourth-round safety Kyle Louis, fifth-round safety Michael Taaffe, fifth-round wide receiver Kevin Coleman, sixth-round guard DJ Campbell, and seventh-round defensive end Max Llewellyn.
First-round picks Kadyn Proctor and Chris Johnson join fifth-round tight end Seydou Traore as the only unsigned picks.
