The Minnesota Vikings announced Monday that they have named Brian Flores defensive coordinator as the team turns to the former Miami Dolphins head coach to fix one of the NFL's most porous units in 2022.
Flores, who went 24-25 in three seasons with the Dolphins before being controversially fired following the 2021 campaign, spent this past season as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 41-year-old previously served 11 seasons on Bill Belichick’s staff with the New England Patriots before joining Miami in 2019. Flores was part of four Super Bowl-winning teams with New England and handled defensive play-calling duties in his final season there in 2018, helping the Pats to a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53.
ESPN reported Sunday that Flores was one of three finalists, along with New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching position that remains unfilled. He also previously spoke with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons for those teams' defensive coordinator openings.
Flores replaces Ed Donatell, who was fired shortly after Minnesota's 31-24 loss to the Giants in the opening round of the playoffs. The Vikings finished this past season 31st among the NFL's 32 teams in both total yards allowed and passing yards allowed and were tied for 28th in scoring defence after yielding 25.1 points per game.
In his lone season with the Steelers, Flores was part of a staff that helped the Steelers allow just seven rushing touchdowns – tied for the fewest in the NFL – and had the league’s sixth-lowest completion percentage against (61.3 per cent).
Flores, who is Black, still has a class-action lawsuit pending against the NFL alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practices following his dismissal by the Dolphins in January 2022.
The suit also alleged that the Giants and Denver Broncos interviewed Flores for open head coaching positions only to satisfy the league’s Rooney Rule that requires teams to interview minority candidates for such vacancies.
Panthers defensive lineman Brown could miss rest of season
The Carolina Panthers not only suffered a 47-10 blowout defeat to the New Orleans Saints in their 2024 opener on Sunday, but they also may have lost Pro Bowl defensive lineman Derrick Brown for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury.
NFL Network reported Monday that Brown will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury, and a timeline to return will be determined following the procedure.
Brown was a bright spot for the league-worst Panthers last season, leading all NFL defensive linemen with 103 tackles and tying for fourth with six passes defenced to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.
In April, the seventh overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft was rewarded with a four-year, $96million contract extension through the 2028 season.
Brown’s only missed game of his NFL career came in 2021. He’s started 64 of 67 contests while recording 248 tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions and 21 passes defenced.
Prescott targets Super Bowl win after signing bumper Cowboys contract
Dak Prescott has set his sights on Super Bowl success after signing a bumper new deal with the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas struck an agreement with Prescott just prior to their opening game of the season on Sunday, with the new contract, which runs through the 2028 season, worth $240million with $231m guaranteed.
That makes Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history.
"A little emotional call," Prescott said when reflecting on receiving the video call from his agent while he was warming up for Sunday's clash with the Cleveland Browns.
Prescott went on to lead the Cowboys to a 33-17 victory, completing 19 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.
And the 31-year-old knows the pressure is on for him to deliver this season.
"It's my only motivation," Prescott said.
"Hold up my part of this deal. Just deliver that. That's my motivation.
"Right now it's about celebrating this win tonight. Hell of a win with these guys, excited for this plane ride back with them, but then turning the page tomorrow, getting on to the [New Orleans] Saints and taking it one game at a time.
"That is what is at the forefront of my mind. Not the money. It's about holding up my end of the deal. And I want to do it here."
Prescott failed with 13 of his passes against the Browns, and insists he must improve on that level.
"I put the most pressure on myself. Simple as that," he said.
I'm not happy with my performance and that's what motivates me. That's what pushes me. You try to be bummed about it in the locker room, but you know it's a win on the road, which is good for the team and then you got teammates telling you it was a hell of a day for you.
"I put the most pressure on myself. Nobody's a bigger critic than I am personally, and I expect greatness out of myself with my standards, my expectations and the same for this team."
Tyreek Hill 'trying to put it all together' after police altercation
Tyreek Hill was "still trying to put it all together" after he was detained by police ahead of the Miami Dolphins' opening NFL game.
Hill was detained after an altercation with an officer after he was stopped for reckless driving just hours ahead of the Dolphins' clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
The 30-year-old was subsequently released, and not only played for Miami in their 20-17 win over Jacksonville, but crossed for a touchdown, celebrating by mimicking being put into handcuffs.
A video of Hill's altercation with the police went viral on social media, and after the game, he said: "Right now, I'm still trying to put it all together. I still don't know what happened.
"But I do want to use this platform to say, 'What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?' Worst-case scenario, you know?
"Everybody has bad apples in every situation, but I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive on my end and Miami-Dade and do something positive for the community.
"It's hard. I don't want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?
"Lord knows what those guys would have done. I just wanted to make sure I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you're in a situation like that - put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen."
Videos showed Hill pinned to the floor, surrounded by four officers, and Miami-Dade police department has now lodged an internal investigation."
One of Hill's teammates, Calais Campbell, was also detained as he tried to de-escalate the situation.
"Disobeying a direct order," Campbell said when he was asked why he had been detained. "He [the police officer] said I was too close to the scene and then I think he said something about me not moving my car in time, I don't know.
"He told me I wasn't being arrested but he cited me for being detained and then released."
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