Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has an expiring contract. The Vikings are trying to extend it. Even if they do, Flores can interview for head-coaching jobs and, if offered one, take it.
A survey of various high-level executives throughout the league has pointed to one obvious conclusion: He’ll most likely be a candidate, because of the effectiveness of his scheme. Generally speaking, his peers and various General Managers recognize that he’s doing a phenomenal job in Minnesota.
Helping Flores in the coming cycle is the fact that, as one source put it, there are many names but very few standouts.
At least one G.M. regards Flores as the best defensive coordinator in the entire league, with a variety of pressures that make it very difficult for offenses to prepare each and every week. Some believe the scheme alone will get him serious consideration.
The other question relates to the bigger picture. Leadership of the team. Owners, as one executive put it, will focus on the ability to collaborate, as well as emotional intelligence.
How will he manage the entire locker room, especially when adversity inevitably strikes? A head coach will be expected to inspire belief through the rough spots, and there will always be one or two (or more) in a given season. The best head coaches instill a belief and a vision for attacking challenging situations with authenticity and real solutions.
Interested teams will undoubtedly dig deep into his time with Miami, which didn’t go well. How much of that is on him? How much can be attributed to the chronic dysfunction of the Dolphins organization? And while the Steelers, we’re told, loved Flores during his one-year stint as senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach, there are (and have been) league-wide rumblings about his interpersonal style during three years in Minnesota — some of which may trace to eleven seasons spent working for Bill Belichick in New England.
Still, as one source put it, the scheme is more important than the other stuff. That can be dealt with later, behind closed doors, if necessary.
It’s still unclear which teams will have openings. The Titans and Giants currently do. As to New York, the fact that the Giants are one of the named defendants to his arbitration/litigation against the NFL and four specific teams (the Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans are the other named defendants) will be a natural impediment, even if it by law shouldn’t be. Don’t expect Flores to surface as an option with the Giants (or, obviously, the Dolphins, if they make a change).
Flores also will need to choose wisely. When the window opens the first time for a coordinator, there’s a strong temptation to jump through it, broader issues with the franchise be damned. When the window opens the second time, the coach needs to be far more careful, because it could be his last shot.
Ultimately, Flores’s candidacy comes down to one owner and organization deciding to make the move, and Flores deciding to make that team his second NFL head-coaching stop. Anyone who saw Thursday’s Lions-Vikings game has to at least be intrigued by the prospect of Flores bringing that kind of havoc-creating defense to a team that needs a boost. Otherwise, that team wouldn’t be looking for a new head coach.
Vikings Clips
Things have changed dramatically for the Lions and Vikings since last season, when they squared off in Week 18 with identical 14-2 records for the top seed in the NFC.
Over the last four games, the fall of the Lions has been even more dramatic.
Detroit had a record of 7-5 through 12 games. Minnesota, after losing four in a row, had plunged to 4-8. With the Vikings winning four in a row (capped by the Christmas Day win over Detroit), the Lions have gone 1-3.
They’ll now have identical records again entering Week 18 again: 8-8.
And here’s the kicker for the Lions. By virtue of Minnesota’s sweep of the Lions, Detroit is currently in last place in the NFC North. With either a win by the Vikings at home over the Packers or a loss by the Lions at Chicago — or if both games end in ties — the Lions will finish fourth in the division.
Here’s the silver lining. Finishing fourth in the division would give the Lions a last-place schedule for 2026. That would mean games against the Titans, Giants, and Cardinals. Currently, the third-place Vikings would face the the Colts, Commanders, and 49ers.
The Bears and Packers, depending on how they finish, will play some combination of the Jaguars/Texans, Eagles/Cowboys, and Seahawks/Rams.
The other 14 games are unrelated to division finish. But those three games could make a difference. And the Lions currently have the inside track to getting the primary edge that comes from finishing dead last in their division.
Brian Flores picked the perfect time to create chaos for the Detroit Lions.
Flores, in his third season as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, is in the final year of his contract. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Vikings are currently working toward extending his deal.
The Vikings wanted to do it before the 2025 regular season. Flores decided to wait. If he was betting on himself, he won.
Minnesota’s defense has been the strength of a team that started 4-8 and worked its way back to .500, despite an underperforming offense. Thursday’s 23-10 win over the Lions featured six turnovers created by Minnesota’s defense. It was a continuation of the prior meeting between the two teams, during which the Vikings generated heavy pressure on quarterback Jared Goff — often sending players up the middle and forcing Goff from his preferred spot of operating in the pocket en route to a 27-24 win.
The Vikings currently rank fifth in yards allowed per game, at 292.7. They’re tenth in points allowed, with 20.6.
The stout Week 17 defensive showing allowed the Vikings to become the first team in 47 years to win by 10 or more points while generating fewer than 10 net passing yards.
Without a new contract, Flores becomes free to join a new staff elsewhere. With a new contract, he’d remain eligible to leave for a head-coaching job elsewhere.
Whether and to what extent he’ll be a viable candidate for a second shot as a head coach remains to be seen. His pending arbitration and litigation against the NFL and multiple teams (Giants, Dolphins, Broncos, and Texans) will be a practical impediment — even if federal law mandates that it not be.
The Vikings defense carried the team to a 23-10 win over the Lions on Thursday and the longest-tenured member of the unit had a big hand in the performance.
Safety Harrison Smith had a sack on the opening possession of the game and then set up a field goal by intercepting Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the third quarter. After the pick, it looked like Smith was going to throw the ball into the stands but he told reporters in the locker room that “I kind of want to keep the ball” while noting that he’ll be turning 37 early next year.
That birthday will come after Smith finishes his 14th season and the prospect of the safety’s future came up after the game. He was visibly emotional about what the support of fans has meant to him during a Netflix interview on the field and he was asked in the locker room if he thinks this season will be it for him.
“I can’t speak on that right now,” Smith said. “I’m a very much in the moment type of guy. I’m going to enjoy this with the guys I’ve gone to work with and enjoy my family and the holidays. That’ll handle itself when it does.”
If Smith does decide to call it a career, the Christmas performance will ensure that he goes out on a high note.
The Vikings saw three net passing yards come sailing in, on Christmas Day in the afternoon.
The fact that they still won the game is stunning. And historic.
Via Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Minnesota’s 23-10 nail-in-the-coffin to Detroit’s playoff hopes was only the fifth time in the Super Bowl era that a team won a game by 10 or more points with fewer than 10 net passing yards. It hadn’t happened in 47 years.
The Packers beat the Chargers, 24-3, in 1978 with nine net passing yards. The Packers beat the Rams, 17-6, in 1974 with minus-one net passing yards. The Cardinals beat the Falcons, 32-10, in 1973 with nine net passing yards. And the Lions beats the 49ers, 26-14, in 1969 with one net passing yard.
Quarterback Max Brosmer completed nine of 16 passes for 51 yards for the Vikings. Brosmer was sacked seven times, losing 48 yards.
Neither Brosmer nor the rest of the Minnesota offense coughed up the ball. The Minnesota defense forced six turnovers — including five from quarterback Jared Goff.
The Vikings deserve plenty of credit for playing to win despite being eliminated from playoff contention 11 days ago. After starting 4-8, they’ve now won four in a row.
And the Lions deserve plenty of blame for failing to deliver a win when they needed it most. Especially when the Minnesota passing game was virtually nonexistent.
With the Lions losing on Christmas Day in Minnesota, the NFC playoff field is nearly set.
The NFC’s postseason qualifiers are the Seahawks, Bears, Eagles, Rams, 49ers, Packers, and the eventual winner of the NFC South.
It will be the Panthers or the Buccaneers winning that division, and hosting a wild-card game as the No. 4 seed against the No. 5 seed.
As to the rest of the seeding, it’s all TBD. Which gives the last two weekends some extra sizzle — possibly with the No. 1 seed coming down to the Week 18 game between the Seahawks and the 49ers.
Three NFC teams that didn’t make it last year are in for 2025: Bears, Seahawks, and 49ers. The number will increase to four if the Panthers take the NFC South from the Bucs, who have won it every year since 2021.
Bounced from the 2024 field are the Lions, Vikings, and Commanders. The failure of the Lions to make it is stunning; they were 15-2 last year. They’re 8-8 through sixteen games in 2025.
The Vikings offense only made one big play against the Lions on Thursday, but that turned out to be all they needed.
Wide receiver Jordan Addison took a handoff on an end around and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown with 3:43 left to play to lift the Vikings to a 20-10 lead over the Lions. That left enough time left for the Lions to mount a comeback that would keep their playoff their hopes alive, but their sixth turnover of the day put an end to those dreams.
Quarterback Jared Goff couldn’t handle a high shotgun snap and Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel fell on it to give the ball back to the Vikings in Lions territory. The Lions were able to force the Vikings into a third-and-5, which was generally a good spot for them in this contest but rookie quarterback Max Brosmer made his biggest throw of the game to wide receiver Justin Jefferson for a first down.
Will Reichard’s third field goal of the game came with just over a minute left to make the final score 23-10.
It was the second fumbled snap that Van Ginkel recovered and just part of an excellent Christmas performance. He also forced a fumble on a sack he split with Dallas Turner and pressured Goff into the first of two interceptions he threw in the third quarter. The Vikings defense had five sacks overall and limited the Lions to 196 yards en route to the win.
That made up for a dreadful offensive performance of their own. They had just 75 yards of offense before Addison’s big play and they finished the day with just three net passing yards after the Jefferson catch. The outing underscored how much bad quarterback play hampered a Vikings team with a good defense this season and making sure things go better next season should be their top priority once the calendar flips to 2026.
The Lions will have plenty of work to do as well. The loss clinched a playoff spot for the Packers and the Lions have now gone 3-6 after a 5-2 start to the year. Injuries played a role in their slide, but it feels clear that the Lions did not adequately replace what they lost when assistants like Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn left after helping the team go 15-2 last season.
More changes will likely come to the coaching staff as the Lions try to find a better approach next season and head coach Dan Campbell’s seat could get hot in a hurry if they aren’t able to get off to a strong start next September. The work to ensure that doesn’t happen will begin in earnest after next week’s game in Chicago while the Vikings will close out the year by hosting the Packers.
The Vikings haven’t generated much offense against the Lions in Thursday’s game, but they have benefitted from a slew of turnovers by the visiting team.
Jared Goff threw interceptions on back-to-back throws in the third quarter and the Vikings turned both of them into Will Reichard field goals. That has the Vikings up 13-7 with just under two minutes to play in the third.
Goff’s first pick came while he was under heavy pressure from Andrew Van Ginkel and tried a long pass to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. Vikings corner Byron Murphy picked off the heave and returned it near midfield.
Safety Harrison Smith intercepted Goff’s next pass and Reichard nailed a 56-yard kick after the Vikings picked up four yards on the ensuing drive.
The Lions offense took its time finding its footing in Minnesota on Thursday afternoon, but they were able to draw even with the Vikings just before halftime.
Quarterback Jared Goff hit rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa with a four-yard touchdown pass that made it 7-7 with 1:05 left to play in the first half. It was TeSlaa’s fourth touchdown catch in the last five games.
The score came on the final play of a 19-play, 80-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off of the game clock. It included a pair of fourth-down conversion runs by running back David Montgomery, including one that led to an unsuccessful challenge of a spot by Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell.
The Vikings got their touchdown after linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel fell on a fumbled snap on the Detroit 16-yard line. Aaron Jones scored a few plays later, but was shaken up while being tackled on a reception late in the half. Jones was able to jog off the field under his own power.
The other four Minnesota possessions, including one that began after a fumble by Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, ended with punts. Quarterback Max Brosmer was sacked four times and Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson notched a pair of them.
Goff was sacked three times with the final one coming at the hands of linebacker Eric Wilson on the final play of the half. Goff finished the half 9-of-13 for 103 yards while Brosmer is 6-of-8 for 27 yards in his second NFL start.
A Lions blunder set up the first Vikings touchdown of Thursday’s game.
Quarterback Jared Goff lost the ball on a snap from center Michael Juergens and Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel recovered the ball on the Lions’ 16-yard line. Running back Aaron Jones covered the rest of the distance to the end zone on four carries, including a one-yard plunge that gave his team a 7-0 lead.
The fumble came one play after Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell successfully challenged a spot on a run by Lions running back David Montgomery. The play was initially ruled a first down, but the call was reversed and the Lions’ fumble came on a third-and-1 instead.
Vikings kick returner Myles Price was injured on the opening kickoff. He is considered questionable to return with an ankle injury.
