There are now two more known candidates to replace Mike Tomlin as head coach of the Steelers, including one individual who is plenty familiar with the club.
According to multiple reports, Pittsburgh has put in a request to interview Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Multiple reports also indicate that the Steelers have requested Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Flores, 44, spent the 2022 season with Pittsburgh as the club’s senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach before Minnesota hired him to be its defensive coordinator in 2023. By most accounts, Flores made a positive impact and was well-liked in his one season with the Steelers, making it unsurprising that the club would want to interview him after Tomlin’s departure.
Flores has also interviewed with the Ravens after the fellow AFC North club fired John Harbaugh last week.
Weaver, 45, has served as the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. He is also familiar with the division, as Weaver coached for the Ravens from 2021-2023 as defensive line coach and was the Browns’ defensive line coach from 2014-2015.
Weaver also played for the Ravens from 2002-2005 before finishing his career as a defensive end with the Texans from 2006-2008.
Vikings Clips
With nine head coach vacancies, Brian Flores may end up getting one of the jobs.
But for now, he’s spending some time with a team that may like to have him as a top assistant.
Via multiple reports, Flores is interviewing with Washington for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
The Commanders fired Joe Whitt Jr. after the completion of the regular season. Head coach Dan Quinn had taken back defensive play-calling duties during the season, making the move unsurprising.
After three seasons as Dolphins head coach, Flores spent 2022 with the Steelers as senior defensive assist nd linebackers coach. He’s been the Vikings’ defensive coordinator since 2023, but his contract is up, making him eligible to interview with other teams for a lateral move.
But PFT reported earlier this week that the Vikings are confident they’ll be able to retain Flores if he does not get a head coaching job.
As expected, Adam Thielen is calling it a career.
In a post on social media, Thielen formally announced his retirement on Wednesday.
“What a ride it has been!” Thielen’s post reads. “13 years what a blessing! Have been blessed with so many great relationships and mentors over the years that I am forever grateful for! Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the years, it has meant everything to my family and I!”
Thielen, 35, spent the vast majority of his career with the Vikings. Signing with the club as an undrafted free agent in 2013, he spent his first season on the practice squad before becoming a special teams contributor in 2014 and 2015.
But in 2016, Thielen ascended to starting receiver, catching 69 passes for 967 yards with five touchdowns. He followed that with a pair of Pro Bowl seasons in 2017 and 2018.
After Minnesota let him go following the 2022 season, Thielen spent two years with the Panthers. he caught 103 passes for 1,014 yards with four TDs in 2023.
He was traded back to the Vikings at the start of the 2025 regular season, but did not contribute much, catching just eight passes for 69 yards in 11 games. He was released and claimed off waivers by the Steelers, where he finished his career with a two-catch performance in Monday’s playoff loss to the Texans.
Thielen retires at No. 5 on Minnesota’s franchise list with 6,751 receiving yards, No. 4 with 542 receptions, and No. 3 with 55 touchdowns.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Tuesday that he thought quarterback J.J. McCarthy improved during the 2025 season and outlined the plan for continuing McCarthy’s development in the offseason.
O’Connell said that he thinks “a deep and talented quarterback room will only enhance [McCarthy’s] ability” to grow as a player and that means the team is going to focus on adding competition to that room in the coming months. Undrafted rookie Max Brosmer is currently the only other quarterback under contract for next season.
“I think there has to be,” O’Connell said, via the team’s website. “That’s what’s going to make everybody better in that room. It’s going to be what makes our entire offense thrive through that competition. That should be how our entire organization looks at their individual roles when we compete against each other in the different aspects of the offseason,” he added. “I ultimately think that’s what will [prepare] not only the starter but the next guy and the next guy, and we’ve learned we’ve got to get a lot of guys ready to play. And we’ve got to do it with a responsibility of being the best version of our offense.”
O’Connell said that it remains to be seen what the approach will mean in terms of reps for different quarterbacks, but that McCarthy’s progress will be “a major, major emphasis for our staff” however things wind up looking when the team returns to practice.
Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison’s attorney Tim Younger has made a comment about Addison’s arrest earlier this week.
Addison was arrested at 3:46 a.m. ET on Monday in Tampa and was booked for probable cause trespassing in an occupied structure or conveyance. Younger posted on X.com that Addison’s attorneys believe that their client will be cleared of any charge.
“On Jordan’s behalf, his legal team has already initiated the investigation, identified witnesses, and we are reviewing the viability of a claim for false arrest,” Younger wrote. “He looks forward to the legal process and upon full investigation, we are confident Mr. Addison will be exonerated.”
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Tuesday that he had just learned of the incident and that any speculation about what happened or the response to it “would be incredibly premature for me.”
The Ravens have completed another head coaching interview.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores met with the team on Tuesday. It’s the first head coaching interview for Flores in this cycle and he has also drawn interest from other teams as a defensive coordinator.
The Vikings have expressed a desired to have Flores back and PFT reported Monday that they are confident he will be back if he does not land a top job somewhere else.
The Ravens have also interviewed former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb, and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph during their search for John Harbaugh’s successor.
Vikings receiver Jordan Addison, who was suspended for three games to start the season due to a DUI-related no-contest plea, has another legal issue.
Via Joe Nelson of SI.com, Addison was booked on Monday for “probable cause trespassing” in Tampa.
The alleged incident occurred at an “occupied structure or conveyance on the 5200 block of Orient Road,” a block occupied by multiple restaurants and clubs.
Addison was arrested at 3:46 a.m. ET on Monday and released on $500 bond at 2:40 p.m. ET.
Coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about the arrest during an end-of-season press conference on Tuesday.
“I just learned about that very, very recently, so I don’t want to speculate on that in any way, shape, or form,” O’Connell said, via Nelson. “We gotta get as many facts and find out exactly what happened. Speculating at this point would be incredibly premature for me.”
In 14 games with 12 starts during the 2025 season, Addison had 42 catches for 610 yards and three touchdowns. A first-round pick in 2023, the Vikings have to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option by early May.
The 2026 coaching staff in Minnesota will have one fairly significant change.
On Tuesday, coach Kevin O’Connell announced that assistant head coach Mike Pettine is retiring.
Pettine, 59, joined the Vikings in 2022. In 2024, Pettine was both the assistant head coach and the outside linebackers coach.
He served as head coach of the Browns from 2014 through 2015. Before that, Pettine spent three years as the defensive coordinator of the Jets (2009 through 2012) and one with the Bills (2013). He coordinated the defense in Green Bay from 2018 through 2020.
Moving forward, O’Connell will need to appoint a new assistant head coach. For now, the bigger question is whether O’Connell will be replacing defensive coordinator Brian Flores, either because he has gotten a head-coaching job or because he has decided to work elsewhere as a defensive coordinator.
PFT reported on Monday that the Vikings are confident Brian Flores will be back as the team’s defensive coordinator if he does not land a head coaching job, but that apparently isn’t stopping at least one other club from seeing if Flores is interested in running their defense.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Commanders want to interview Flores for that position on Dan Quinn’s coaching staff. Flores just wrapped up his third season as the coordinator in Minnesota.
Flores is expected to interview with the Ravens for their head coaching vacancy this week. There has not been any other word of head coaching interest so far this cycle.
Flores went 24-25 in three seasons as the head coach of the Dolphins before being fired after the 2021 season. He subsequently took legal action against the Dolphins, the NFL and three other clubs for racial discrimination and that claim is still pending.
Eight days after the Vikings’ finished their regular-season on a five-game winning streak, there has been no news regarding whether defensive coordinator Brian Flores will stick around for a fourth season.
He has completed his work in Minnesota, but assistant-coaching contracts typically don’t expire until the Super Bowl. Still, he’s essentially a free agent at this point, needing only to bide his time until he’s free to leave.
As we understand it, the Vikings remain confident Flores will be back, unless he lands a head-coaching job. Of the eight openings, Flores has publicly emerged as a potential candidate, so far, only with the Ravens.
It’s possible, frankly, that the Vikings have a tentative deal with Flores, but that a decision has been made to not put pen to paper until he has exhausted all head-coaching possibilities.
Shortly before the Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll, a rumor was making the rounds of a potential Patriot Way reunion in Las Vegas, with former New England quarterback/current Raiders minority owner and significant influence Tom Brady hiring Flores, a former Patriots defensive coordinator, to be the coach, with Brian Daboll, who had multiple stints with the Patriots, as offensive coordinator.
To date, the Raiders have been officially linked to Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Flores’s candidacy as a head coach with any team is complicated by his pending lawsuit against the NFL and four franchises — the Dolphins, Giants, Broncos, and Texans. Legally, the fact that he has pursued a claim of racial discrimination against the league cannot be used against him. As a practical matter, teams exercise plenty of discretion when it comes to hiring head coaches, and the supply of objectively qualified candidates outweighs the demand.
Indeed, Flores’s claim against the Texans arises from the team’s failure to hire him in 2022, following the filing of his lawsuit. He was one of three finalists, along with Jonathan Gannon and Josh McCown. The Texans ultimately went off the board to hire Lovie Smith, who was fired after one year.
