Vikings hire ex-dolphins coach Flores as defensive coordinator

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores as their defensive coordinator on Monday, their first step toward trying to revive a once-dominant unit that ranked among the NFL'S worst last season.

Flores was a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach this season for Pittsburgh, after three years as head coach in Miami.

Prior to being hired by the Dolphins, Flores was an assistant for 11 seasons for New England, the last eight on the defensive side. The Patriots won four Super Bowls during his time there, which included four years as a scout. The last of those was in the 2018 season, which was Flores' first as the defensive play-caller. The Patriots jumped from 17th to seventh in the league that year in opponent passer rating (85.4) and were tied for fifth with 28 takeaways.

After he was fired by the Dolphins, Flores, who is Black, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the team and the NFL. The case is still tied up in the court system.

With the Steelers, the 41-year-old Flores drew rave reviews from players who saw him as an extra head coach on Mike Tomlin's staff. The Steelers were tied with the Patriots this season for the fewest rushing touchdowns (seven) allowed in the league.

Flores replaces Ed Donatell, who was fired last month after one year with head coach Kevin O'connell. The Vikings were second-worst in the league in yards allowed and fourthworst in points allowed during the regular season. The NFC North champions were then ousted from the playoffs in the wild-card round by the New York Giants as quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 301 yards and rushed for 78 more.