Following his defense’s latest dominating performance during Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans, the chances now seem higher that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores will leave for a head coaching job after the 2024 season.
Earlier this week, Flores revealed that he would still like to become an NFL head coach again in the future, despite his first opportunity with the Miami Dolphins not working out.
Now, he did say the next head coaching job would have to be the right opportunity. But with the way Flores has the Vikings defense playing this year, that opportunity could emerge as early as 2025.
Minnesota improved its record to 8-2 this season on Sunday by defeating the Titans by a final score of 23-13. The Vikings wound up with the victory thanks to high-level performances from their defense and from quarterback Sam Darnold.
Tennessee did find a way to score one touchdown against Minnesota, but it happened on a pretty flukey play when Titans quarterback Will Levis connected with wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 98-yard score.
Aside from that drive, Tennessee averaged just 19.6 yards on their 10 other offensive drives against the Vikings defense on Sunday. Minnesota’s defense also sacked Levis five times, and they held their opponent to 13 points or less for the third game in a row.
On the other side of the ball, Darnold had a solid bounce-back performance on Sunday after his three-interception debacle against the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend.
In the win over the Titans, the Vikings quarterback completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions while also rushing for 18 yards and another score.
With his two touchdown passes on Sunday, Darnold now has 19 this year, which matches his single-season career high. With seven games left on Minnesota’s schedule, there is a very high chance that he is going to break that record.
After their win over Tennessee this weekend, the Vikings and their 8-2 record will be on the road for the third straight week next Sunday when they take on a disappointing 4-6 Chicago Bears team.